EUROPE INSIGHT
Memory Laws in Europe:
What Common Horizon Are We Journeying Towards?
Sébastien Ledoux Professor of History University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Notwithstanding the fact that European states had already approved laws pertaining to their past, by introducing days of commemoration for instance, the phenomenon known as“ memory laws” that first surfaced in the 1990s in several European countries marks both transnational movement within the continent, an unprecedented Europeanisation of practices and interpretations related to the past, but also – in a seemingly contradictory manner – a strengthening of national identities, and even of nationalist tendencies in certain countries reacting to transnational processes.
A comparative analysis of Europe’ s states reveals a broad range of memory laws which, beyond this categorisation, actually corresponds to parliamentary acts of a very distinct nature. Let us first point out that the concept of“ memory law” emerged in France in December 2005 amidst controversy surrounding several historians’ condemnation of the French Parliament’ s role in legislating on history. Said historians called for the abolition of four laws via the press. Firstly, the Gayssot Law that imposes criminal sanctions on those who contest the existence of crimes against humanity as defined by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg( 1990). Secondly, the law recognising the Armenian genocide( 2001). Thirdly, the law relating to the recognition of slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity( 2001), and, fourthly, the law on
1 the nation’ s gratitude and the national contribution toward repatriated French citizens from North Africa 1. Jean-Claude Gayssot, member of the French Communist Party( PCF) and was Minister of Transportation in the government of Lionel Jospin( 1997( 2005). Since 2005, the term“ memory law” has-2002). He gave his name to the 1990 Gayssot Act repressing Holocaust denial and speech in favor of racial discrimination | Picture: La Depeche been employed in international speech to refer much
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Observing Memories Issue 5