European Reflection on Totalitarian Regimes

Not just a question of history – there are consequences for survivors

As Director of the European Shoah Legacy Institute, I participated in the October 19, 2011 Brussels hearing devoted to the  memory of crimes committed by totalitarian regimes. Held under the patronage of the European People’s Party (EPP Group) and hosted by the European Parliament (EP), the hearing was organized by Sandra Kalniete, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). According to Ms. Kalniete, events such as this hearing are necessary: "The memory of Europe's history is the common heritage of all Europeans, today and for future generations. True reconciliation and forgiveness are impossible without justice and an honest and thorough debate."

During recent  years there have been some conflicts and misunderstandings between groups of experts that have reflected different aspects of European history. Two streams of discussion have given the debate a strong imprint: (1) The trend from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe that are undergoing transformation has been to emphasize  the need to foster the remembrance of the communist past – thus trying to equilibrate  European perspectives. A minority within this sector of the debate has tried even to equate the totalitarian regimes, an approach which lacks professional skills of historical research and is  more on the level of personal experience and suffering. (2) Experts on Holocaust issues have expressed the fear that the uniqueness of the Holocaust will be denied. This last opinion – discussed among different groups of experts and activists - led to the result that at the aforementioned hearing of the European Parliament the participation of researchers on the Holocaust was rather poor.

However, the organizers of the hearing were far from proposing a disproportionate focus on any one particular issue and tried to present a rather inclusive spectrum of reflection. Among the Czech participants, Daniel Herman, Director of the Institute for Studies of Totalitarian Regimes in Prague, strongly underlined that there are no parallel or competing conceptions of history and that a strong emphasis  has to be made on the specific features of the Holocaust.

My contribution to the discussion made  three points: (1) Taking into account the huge number of survivors of the Holocaust - as well as of other tragic events of the 20th century - the debate must not be reduced to a debate on historical reflection, to presentation of facts or to teaching methodologies. There are all-too-real consequences of that history, which range from questions of health care to the social status of the victims. (2) Hence, the reflection of totalitarian regimes is by no means a question only for historians, teachers and museum specialists, but also for social workers and health-care providers – and not the least for those who take care of  human rights. To deal with such a broad-ranging issue effectively on the European level, the position(s) of a European Union Special Envoy(s) should be created in order to deal with all the aspects of the legacy of totalitarian regimes, including and in particular the Holocaust. (3) In the different chapters of the future budgetary period of the European Union, which starts in 2014,  these respective matters should be taken into account. They should be a concern of the European Social Fund (which as yet is only a means for dealing with employment policy), of the city partnerships, of research and civic education, all the way to the Structural Funds. At least a footnote within each of the respective texts would ease the inclusion of the aforementioned problems into a whole spectrum of projects and activities of the European Union – all under the heading of a “Community of Values. “

After this meeting, it seems to me that a more intense debate about common standpoints and an exchange about possible differences may lead to developing a general perspective on European history in which both the uniqueness of certain phenomena and common features of the past have their place.

Jaroslav Šonka

For more information on the hearing, please view: http://kalniete.lv/2011/10/17/no-reconciliation-without-truth-and-remembrance/ and also http://www.eppgroup.eu/press/showpr.asp?prcontroldoctypeid=1&prcontrolid=10711&prcontentid=18030&prcontentlg=en

For contents of the hearing, please view http://eureconciliation.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/october-19th-there-will-be-a-hearing-on-the-european-commissions-report-the-memory-of-the-crimes-committed-by-totalitarian-regimes-in-europe/#more-639