In the last two decades, for example, the
West German citizens gather at a newly created
opening in the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz in
November 1989 | DoD photo
historical works on the two World Wars have are still many controversies about how to teach his-
exhibited a paradoxical development. On the one torical traumas.
hand, large investments by public agencies and
sitize the children and students to these issues,
research approaches, aided by the implementation of especially regarding episodes for which they lack any
an impressive range of tools, methods, and concepts direct link? If so, to what extent? What is the real
which have had an impact far beyond the world impact on teenagers of the use – and sometimes the
of specialists. On the other hand, there has been a abuse – of the “Auschwitz trips” or similar initia-
growing parallel public preoccupation with these tives? How do we fight against the unavoidable triv-
events, resulting in the use and even the creation ialization or the artificial effect of what has become
of multiple sources of information by ordinary a form of “catéchisme mémoriel”? Teaching vivid
people: databases, websites, local researches, and issues on the recent past doesn’t mean abandoning
genealogic works – a phenomenon known in North any form of critical view on the past.
associations of all kinds. The act of collective
remembrance also covers a wide range of fields,
which I describe here by pointing their achievements
and the problems they raised.
ries have to be emphasized in order to respect each
part of the above-mentioned memory boom. But religious, ethnic and/or cultural minority, or is it
at the same time, it raises a real challenge: while capable of creating a feeling of shared history? If the
the “democratization” of historical knowledge can latter is achievable, how do we create this feeling
reap real progress in sensitizing the past, it can also without imposing an artificial consensus?
mention the Holocaust and other genocides deniers.
In the past decades, the “memory boom”
One of the solutions adopted in French schools
has been to teach some elements of the history of
memory at the end of the secondary degree in order
to explain that a given historical event may have
Teaching
several interpretations and meanings in respect to
Throughout Europe, teaching contemporary
time, space, social groups, etc. In this sense, teach-
history became a challenge, sometimes a permanent ing the history and memory of WWII – or the Alge-
battle, especially in primary and secondary schools. rian War – encourages these students not to take a
has been a major theoretical tool in analyzing the Though there have been important investments in historical narrative for granted.
“present of the past” in the last two decades, it programs and textbooks as well as in exploring the
Though the concept of “collective memory”
Researching
Is the school a place where different memo-
the development of this new public history is clearly
allow all kinds of manipulations, fake history not to
‘Memory’ can’t describe
all the complexity of the
presence of the past.
Do we need to evoke emotion in order to sen-
foundations have allowed for the sophistication of
America as “public history”. Interestingly enough,
local institutions, private and public players, and
relevant methods to reach a young audience, there
has been clearly visible in historiography, and must not subsume other concepts which can help
all the humanities or social sciences. Historians to describe the link between past and present. In
have changed their academic focus, and started order to understand the recent past and its lingering
to pay more attention to the perception of time impact on society today, one must take into account
as such. Following Foucault, Ricœur or Koselleck, the roles and the place of political traditions, social
philosophers paid more attention to the past as heritages,