EUROPEAN
MEMORIAL SITES:
CORE DECLARATION
Auschwitz Memorial
Below we publish the text of a joint declaration signed by 32 European Memorial Sites connected with crimes committed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Second World War. The declaration highlights the responsibility of Memorial Sites to protect historical truth and respond to contemporary manifestations of hatred. It stresses that fulfilling this special mission requires their substantive, organizational and financial independence.
EUROPEAN MEMORIAL SITES: CORE DECLARATION
European Memorial Sites established on the grounds of places connected to the crimes perpetrated by the Nazis, Fascists, and their accomplices during World War II constitute a visible legacy of the history that shaped the foundation of post-war Europe.
As our societies undergo significant change, and as the generation of Survivors and direct witnesses gradually disappears, Memorial Sites carry a continuing responsibility: to raise awareness of the past, actively encourage reflection in our contemporary society, and signal and resist dehumanization, racism, antisemitism, and xenophobia wherever they arise.
In fulfilling this responsibility, Memorial Sites occupy a distinct position. Basing on rigorous research and historical evidence, they are detached from private interests, independent, and have a critical voice, including in relation to political developments and all forms of hate speech. This requires that Memorial Sites remain places for difficult questions and that they can offer warnings when this is called for.
This task can only be sustained where Memorial Sites are guaranteed programmatic independence from political authority: local, regional, national, or European. Their intellectual and practical autonomy should not be subject to political or budgetary pressure.
As custodians of a history that affected the whole of Europe, their independence is not solely an internal matter for their respective governing bodies, but a shared interest of Europe as such.
To confront the growing challenges for democracy and peace, we call on all parties involved in public dialogue to respect this principle of autonomy.
15 July 2026
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