Share 2017. January 11. Does a European Culture of Memory Exist? The title of the first European Remembrance Symposium that took place in 2012 in Gdańsk at the initiative of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity, in conjunction with the European Solidarity Centre and Bundesstiftung Aufarbeitung, is also the guiding question constituting its axis from the start of our undertaking. Although it is not easy to answer, we seek each year to find a common language in discussions on the history of the past century. We believe that this dialogue should especially now take account of various narratives, sensitivities, experiences and interpretations. For this reason we annually invite representatives from institutions dealing with the history of 20th century Europe to jointly discuss and debate vital events, their genesis, context and consequences, as well as to compare our experiences in their commemoration. European Remembrance – Lectures, Discussions, Commentaries, 2012–16 features a selection of texts from five conferences that successively took place in Gdańsk, Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Budapest. This is a record of the most significant lectures and discussions, as well as commentary from historians and political figures on events discussed at the Symposium. We consider these pronouncements to constitute interesting material for students of history, as well as its fans. We feel that remembrance is a form of responsibility understood as a message regarding the past that aids us in a more thoughtful building of the future. Memory of history is also a constituent element of the identity of each of us. For this reason it is important for remembrance to be most complete and perfect, so that it accommodates the remembrances of victims and trauma, as well as crimes and the memory of resistance against violence generated by totalitarian systems and dictatorships. We hope that this collection of texts will constitute a stone enriching the mosaic of European remembrance. We wish you inspirational reading! Dr Florin Abraham Dr Réka Földváryné Kiss Dr Ondrej Krajňák Prof. Jan Rydel Prof. Matthias Weber COORDINATORS, THE EUROPEAN NETWORK REMEMBRANCE AND SOLIDARITY September 2016 Címkék books
