It should also strive to generate new knowledge of the past itself, while simultaneously
complexities throughout both the East and
West, will prove to be one of the greatest
challenges for the development of any
European policy of remembrance in the
following years.
coping with its memorialization. Above all, one must contemplate the real purpose of a
remembrance policy, that is sharing a common legacy of the past rather than centralizing
its differences. Recently, there have been too many competitive forms of victimization, and
not enough proactive efforts directed towards how these differences could and should be
overpassed.
There are many other components that
make up a social identity aside from the
sharing of dark memories from traumatic
pasts.
Therefore, it is unlikely that the Holocaust paradigm will remain the only relevant
one in the near future, nor it is likely that there will be a new paradigm comparable to
that of the Holocaust. The model built for the Holocaust remembrance — important
though it is due to the necessity to cope with an unprecedented experience – cannot just
be copied. Moreover, coming to terms with the Communist legacy will also change the
The choice presented to us is not easy, nor is the answer obvious. Should we insist
ways in which we narrate and remember European history in general, including in the
Western part of the continent. The memories of other traumas will evolve into increasingly again on the idea that remembering the Holocaust has a universal dimension despite the
refined expressions, even if the Holocaust model may still serve as a reference. Even if the fact that this is all but consensual, or should we try to invent new means of remembering,
Communist experience was a pan-European one, and even if the magnitude of the crimes which will take into account the diversification of historical experiences? In a certain sense,
committed on its behalf were tremendously tragic, there is no sign that this collective we should probably disconnect the question of memory and that of identity. The Holocaust
experience could play the role played by the Holocaust legacy. There is no sign indicating doesn’t only concern the Jews just as slavery and colonialism doesn’t only concern
that the Communist experience might be seen as “universal” as was the Holocaust one. ethnic minorities, nor it doesn’t concern only the European states. There are many other
Consequently, establishing a fundamental framing around communist experiences, in their components that make up a social identity aside from the sharing of dark memories from
varieties and complexities throughout both the East and West will prove to be one of the traumatic pasts. And what is true for communities, is also true for nations, and, in the end,
greatest challenges for the development of any European policy of remembrance in the for the European Union.
following years.
In brief conclusion, I suggest that any activity in the field of remembrance should
Version reviewed and corrected by the author. For an extended reading check:
go beyond a moral perspective. It should instead provide a political vision by striving to
Rousso, Henry. Face au passé. Essais sur la mémoire contemporaine, Paris, Belin, 2016
understand how remembrance activities might concretely improve our democratic systems.
Memento Park in Budapest, dedicated to monumental statues and sculpted plaques from the Communist Period(1949–1989) | Prosopee
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Lenin and some other emblematic monuments at Memento Park | Szoborpark
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