"Dictatorship is different from democracy" and "it is important that today and in the future this is perceived," said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, during the inauguration of the museum. "We cannot let this memory fade or become obsolete over the years," he stressed. "Unfortunately, we have few monuments that show that the dictatorship existed, but here [Fortaleza de Peniche] it was undoubtedly perceived that there was a unique symbol of what Portugal was like for 48 years," added Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The former political prisoner for 10 years in Peniche and member of the commission created for the museum, Domingos Abrantes, recalled that the country had been "waiting for almost half a century" for this museum. During the dictatorship, the Fortaleza de Peniche functioned as a political prison, from where, with the 25th of April 1974, the respective prisoners were released two days later. The National Museum of Resistance and Freedom was born from the recognition of this place as a space of memory and a symbol of the struggle for freedom on a national scale. The project's mission is to investigate, preserve and communicate the national memory related to the resistance to the Portuguese fascist regime, based on the memories and experiences of those who fought for freedom and democracy. The museum represents an investment of 4.3 million euros, co-financed by community funds, and involved works that led to the closure of the Fortress in February 2022. In April 2017, the Government approved a recovery plan for the Fortaleza de Peniche to install the museum in the former prison of the Estado Novo dictatorship, intended for political prisoners. In September 2016, the Fortaleza de Peniche was included by the Government in the list of historical monuments to be granted to private individuals, under the Revive program, but two months later it was withdrawn, due to the controversy raised, leading the Assembly of the Republic to defend its requalification, as an alternative. The fortress, classified as a National Monument since 1938, was one of the prisons of the Estado Novo, from where, among others, the historical secretary-general of the PCP Álvaro Cunhal managed to escape in 1960, starring in one of the most striking episodes of the fight against the dictatorial regime. Read Also: Marcelo refuses to comment on Aguiar-Branco's suggestion to hear PGR in the AR (Portuguese version)