History Memory And Politics In Central And Eastern Europe

Twenty years after the end of communism, the history of Central and Eastern Europe still sparks intense discussions in the former Soviet bloc, as contested memories, primarily about communist repression and WWII, are relived. This volume goes beyond the state-centred approach that so often characterises the study of memory-issues in post-communist countries and highlights two interrelated factors that account for the recent proliferation of memory games in Central and Eastern Europe including, but not limited to, the growth in number of political and social actors who try to elaborate and impose new memory norms into society and the 'internationalization' of conflicted memories.

In contrast to a narrow understanding of 'transitional justice', this collection of fourteen case studies situates conflicts around painful histories within the 'ordinary' operating of post-communist societies, concentrating on games played by political and administrative elites, activists and professional groups in various local, national and European venues.

Review: A fascinating book! This is a must read for anyone interested in the issue of coming to terms with difficult collective past by European societies'. Jan T. Gross, Professor of History, Princeton University, USA 'History of Central and Eastern Europe was boisterous. No wonder that it is present not only in memory but also in everyday life of many Central and Eastern Europeans.

The volume gives an impressive insight into the complicated past of this region while, at the same time, convincingly showing how historical memory shapes our life to-day. Each student of European affairs will greatly benefit from this volume'. Edmund Wnuk-Lipinski, Professor of Sociology, Collegium Civitas, Warsaw, Poland 'This brilliant and thoughtful book demonstrates that any process of Europeanization of histories and memories has to abandon the cliche that the Eastern and Central Europe situation was mainly influenced by the Western and Holocaust oriented 'memory boom'.

On the contrary, the case studies presented here show to what extent memorialization in former Communist countries has followed its own path since the 1990s, and how it will probably change our perception of European history and politics since 1945'. Henry Rousso, Senior Researcher, Institut d'histoire du temps present, CNRS, Paris, France