EUROPE INSIGHT
Memories of Communism in Europe
Marie-Claire Lavabre Emeritus Research Director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research
Addressing the memories of communism in Europe rather than the European memory of communism reveals a presupposition from the outset . Because , while today “ memory ”, still missing from the vocabulary of European institutions in the early 1990s , represents a category of action intended to foster “ European memory ”, memories of communism still seem to be manifold , whether ideologically informed , or whether referring to the relative heterogeneity of communist experiences in Europe . In fact , it is indeed the memories of communism in Europe that , for the past three decades , have spawned a wealth , if not a glut , of scientific , media and political literature . This is not surprising given the link that can be established between the enormous social changes that have brought the issue of memory in Western Europe to the fore since the late 1970s and the major upheavals that have affected Central and Eastern Europe , soon after to become known as “ post-communist ” Europe , since 1989 . But this first solid observation must be unravelled because it instantly raises many questions . The first question undoubtedly invites us to agree on should be understood when it comes to considering social memory . Should the emphasis be placed on memories of a shared experience or on political uses of the past ? The second question concerns the scales of analysis of this social memory : should we envision sub-national ( generational or social belonging ) groups , national groups ( of historic experiences ) or supranational or transnational affiliations or even a “ global memory ” or one in the process of becoming so ? Lastly , should we highlight the role of memory in forging identity and cohesion or , on the contrary , in causing conflict ? In turn , these questions open up gulfs of complexity as far as “ Memories of Communism in Europe ” are concerned . In this respect , unless the object is reduced to one memory of communism split according to an East-West divide inherited from communism and “ post-communism ” ( a category which , by the way , is questionable , just like the caesura imposed with the
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Observing Memories Issue 5