Communism

#132

Sighet Memorial in Sighetu Marmației

Romania

By Contested Histories Initiative

The Sighet Memorial is housed in a former Stalinist prison in Sighet that under Communist rule in Romania housed high profile political prisoners. The Memorial provides insight on the repression by communist regimes in Europe throughout the 20th century, including the resultant death and suffering experienced inside and outside the… Read More

The street sign bearing the name of Boris Nemtsov in Prague 6.
#46

Boris Nemtsov Square in Prague

Czech Republic

By Contested Histories Initiative

On February 27, 2016, several Czech citizens started a petition to rename Prague’s Under the Chestnuts Square, the site of Russia’s Embassy in the Czech Republic, in honour of the murdered Kremlin critic, Boris Nemtsov. The Prague City Council finalised the renaming on February 27, 2020. In response, the Russian… Read More

Bronze statue of soldier at Tallin Military Cemetary in Estonia
#53

Bronze Soldier Statue in Tallinn

Estonia

By Jade

In late April 2007, a series of violent street protests involving arson and looting erupted over plans to relocate a bronze statue of a Red Army soldier from a park in central Tallinn to a military cemetery on the outskirts of the city.  Known as the Bronze Nights, these protests… Read More

Statue of Stalin infront of Museum in Gori, Georgia
#62

Stalin Statue in Gori

Georgia

By Jade

The removal of the Stalin statue from the central square in Gori represents a top-down policy implementation approach to a contested historical monument. Such implementations of Georgia’s Freedom Charter illustrate the legal framework under which symbols, monuments and names of sites related to the Soviet past become reconfigured. However, positions… Read More

Statue of Lenin extending his hand surrounded by busts of Lenin on the ground at Grūto parkas in Lithuania
#96

Grūtas Sculpture Park in Druskininkai

Lithuania

By Contested Histories Initiative July 2021

The Grūtas Park was created to collect and display Soviet-era monuments that had been removed from public spaces following Lithuanian independence. This case study provides an example of an effective and alternate remedy to destruction or erasure of contested historical legacies, but also shows the political, social, and economic complexities… Read More

Russia

Crimes Against History

By FIDH June 2021

In this report, FIDH analyses the human rights situation of historians, NGOs, activists, journalists, and other history producers working on historical memory of the Soviet past in Russia. We do so through the prism of what historian Antoon De Baets calls “crimes against history,” a term denoting a range of… Read More

Human Impact of World War II

By Diversify Our Narrative 2021

This lesson plan should be precluded by an overview of the Second World War, and can be used as a supplementary lesson that offers a deeper lens into the war’s violence and its driving forces. Students should have a basic understanding of the historical context of the war, including its… Read More

Law and Memory

Towards Legal Governance of History

By Uladzislau Belavusau & Aleksandra Gliszczyńska (Eds.) 2017

Legal governance of memory has played a central role in establishing hegemony of monumental history, and has forged national identities and integration processes in Europe and beyond. In this book, a range of contributors explore both the nature and role of legal engagement into historical memory in selected national law,… Read More

Post-Communist Poland

Contested Pasts and Future Identities

By Ewa Ochman 2013

The book explores the reinterpretations of Poland’s past which have been undertaken by Polish national and local elites since the fall of communism. It focuses on remembrance practices and traces the de-commemorating of communism to examine the ways in which collective remembering and forgetting shapes present power constellations in Poland… Read More

Historical Reconciliation and Protracted Conflicts

By EASI – Euro-Atlantic Security Initiative February 2012

In this report, a working group explore deeper solutions to the challenges of achieving historical reconciliation between countries divided by deep-seated historical grievances and of breaking through the long-standing impasse in resolving a number of protracted conflicts within the Euro-Atlantic region. Read More

The Memory of the Crimes Committed by Totalitarian Regimes in Europe

Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Council

By European Commission December 2010

The report aims to present how the Commission intends to play a meaningful role in this process and to provide a basis for further discussion on how the European Union can contribute to promoting the memory of the crimes committed by totalitarian regimes. It also aims to answer the request… Read More