Remembrance Days in European Union – between oblivion, national manifestations and an European narrative?

Abstract

The tragic events of World War II play an important role in the collective memory of all European nations. Since 1945, many initiatives devoted to the coming-to-terms with the traumatic past have been launched. One of the challenges for actors involved in the creation of historical and educational policies is to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive. In the last years, a significant number of initiatives have been organized on the occasion of anniversaries. The paper presents an analysis of 3 different initiatives connected to the official ceremonies of three international remembrance days in Poland, Germany and France. These are the Holocaust Remembrance Day, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the European Day of Remembrance for the Righteous. The selected countries represent different historical experiences of war and circumstances, in which the process of collective memory took place. The need for reconciliation between France and Germany was one of the basic reasons for European integration. The reconciliation process between Poland and Germany started much later and Poland joined EU just in 2004. These factors have had an important impact on the creation of the memory culture in those countries. The paper gives an indication on who is involved in commemoration activities and which factors are decisive for the question of whether at all and how the selected anniversaries are celebrated in the three chosen countries. It shows, in how far national goals regarding historical policy are still prevailing and in which places and occasions a more universal and international narrative has been developed.