The birth of the memory of Communism: memorial museums in Europe

Abstract

This article argues that the memory of Communism emerged in Europe not due to the public recognition of pre-given historical experiences of peoples previously under Communist regimes, but to the particularities of the post-Cold War transnational political context. As a reaction to the uniqueness claim of the Holocaust in the power field structured by the European enlargement process, Communism memory was reclaimed according to the European normative and value system prescribed by the memory of the Holocaust. Since in the political context of European enlargement refusing to cultivate the memory of the Holocaust was highly illegitimate, the memory of Communism was born as the “twin brother” of Holocaust memory. The Europeanized memory of Communism produced a legitimate differentia specifica of the newcomers in relation to old member states. It has been publicly reclaimed as an Eastern European experience in relation to universal Holocaust memory perceived as Western. By the analysis of memorial museums of Communism, the article provides a transnational, historical, and sociological account on Communism memory. It argues that the main elements of the discursive repertoire applied in post-accession political debates about the definition of Europe were elaborated before 2004 in a pan-European way.

Keywords:

• European enlargement
• memorial museums of Communism
• memory of the Holocaust
• transnational politics of memory
• post-Cold War period

Notes

1. See historian Horia Patapievici's argument (quoted in Laignel-Lavastine 2004, 191 or Luik 2008).

2. http://okupacijasmuzejs.lv/en/about-museum/mission-and-history. Accessed 14 November 2016.

3. This and subsequent citations from the website: http://www.okupatsioon.ee/vanaweb/en/who-we-are/154-avamiskoned. Accessed 14 November 2016.

4. See the text at http://2001-2006.orbanviktor.hu/; video recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAQpHYU3m3s. Accessed 14 November 2016.

5. http://www.okupatsioon.ee/index.php/et/home/whoweare. Accessed 14 November 2016.

6. http://www.okupatsioon.ee/index.php/et/home/whoweare. Accessed 14 November 2016.

7. news.err.ee (25 February 2016). Accessed 14 November 2016.

Additional information

Funding

This research project was supported by the Collegium de Lyon, where the author worked as an invited researcher during the academic year 2015–2016 and National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH, PD 115736).