History, Memory and Politics in Central and Eastern Europe. Memory Games

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. Introduction; G.Mink & L.Neumayer PART I: MOBILIZATIONS AROUND MEMORY: NEW ACTORS, NEW ISSUES Would-Be Guardians Of Memory. An Association Of Camp Inmates Of The 1992-1995 Bosnian War Under Ethnographic Scrutiny; C.Jouhanneau The Russian Orthodox Church And Reconciliation With The Soviet Past; K.Rousselet 'You Still Live Far From The Motherland, But You Are Her Son, Her Daughter'. War Memory And Soviet Mental Space (1945-2011); M.Venken Pilgrimages To The Edge Of The Fallen Empire - An Anthropological Study Of Finnish And Hungarian Pilgrimages To World War II Memorials In Post-Soviet Russia; E.Fisli & J.Parot Memory At The Margins: The Shoah In Ukraine (1991-2011); S.Fainberg PART II: MEMORY POLICIES AND HISTORICAL NARRATIVES: HOW DO STATES DEAL WITH MEMORIES OF THE PAST? Elites' Games In The Field Of Memory: Insights From Lithuania; I.Matonyte The Chernobyl Nuclear Accident And Identity Strategies In Belarus; T.Kasperski Dealing With The Past In Central And Southern European Democracies: Comparing Spain And Poland; F.Raimundo Institutions Of National Memory In Post-Communist Europe: From Transitional Justice To Political Uses Of Biographies (1989-2010); G.Mink PART III: INTERNATIONAL NORMS AND 'GEOPOLITICS OF MEMORY' Memory Wars And Reconciliation In The Ukrainian-Polish Borderlands: Geopolitics Of Memory From A Local Perspective; T.Zhurzhenko Memory Of The Soviet Union And European Norms On Diversity As Rival Frames For Ethnic Boundary Making: A Case Study In Latvia's Russian-Speaking Schools; P.Bonnard Creating European Norms Of Reconciliation: The Involvement Of The Council Of Europe And The OSCE In The Controversy On The Hungarian 'Status Law'; L.Neumayer The Rejection Of International Criminal Law In West Germany After WWII; G.Mouralis History As A Tool For Foreign Policy In The Baltic States After Independence; P.Perchoc Conclusion; G.Mink & L.Neumayer