crimes committed by totalitarian regimes - Ministrstvo za pravosodje

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Crimes committed by totalitarian regimes A. specifying these developments with regard to their significance, B. careful fact finding, C. assessment of the responsibility, D. undertaking, where necessary, legal steps, E. promotion of results in the media and in schools, F. establishment of an European research institution to continue and expand these activities. Excerpts from the “United Europe – United History” Conference held at the European Parliament on 22 January 2008 “People who share a past are better capable of acting together in the present. This proposition obviously applies to Europe. Integrating Europe self-evidently means political action in the present, with aspirations in the future. Logically European integration, therefore, should be firmly anchored in a particular European idea of the past. Some of this does exist, especially when it comes to European institutions but very little of this resonates with the wider public, for whom Europe is either a desirable or an undesirable abstraction. What is needed therefore is a way of structuring Europe’s past to give recognisability as European by the great majority, as something that affects the great majority. However, another issue is raised by this idea. Any European history of Europe worthy of the name must bridge the deep gulfs – reflecting real experience – that different parts of Europe regard as key aspects of their European pasts.” (Gyoergy Schoepflin) “Let’s remember that after the removal of the dictatorial regimes in South Africa, Chile and even in Germany, truth, justice and reconciliation commissions were established. In this way, those who had suffered received at least moral recompense /.../ The past of undemocratic European States can also be evaluated by legal means, e.g. by using the established legal principles and precedents of international and national courts /.../ The Danish historian, professor Bent Jensen, in his book about the Gulag, speaking about the ‘loss of memory’ in the West in the 20 th century, says: ‘Although the Western world knew about these crimes at the time when they were committed, their reaction was negligible. In fact – many helped to conceal these facts. Even today the genocide committed by the communists has remained in the shadow of the Nazi genocide, notwithstanding the scary and shocking similarities of both regimes.’” (Girts Valdis Kristovskis) “The current community of 27 EU Member States – a community which is already looking forward to the membership of half a dozen more post-communist countries from Southern Europe – is committed to take a common responsibility to address the heritage of Communist totalitarian regimes. This is not merely a question of nostalgia. In the 20 th century, it took two totalitarian powers to plunge Europe into a devastating war. These two dictatorships committed massive crimes against humanity, carried out genocide, brutally suppressed European values and cultural traditions. In order to be sure that such ideologies never again ascend to power in Europe, it is imperative for the EU as a whole to analyze and draw conclusions from both totalitarian systems as well as from the experiences of tens of millions of Europeans from all walks of life who had their lives and futures crushed by these inhuman regimes.” (Tunne Kelam) “As Karl Popper said, a true presentation of history would be possible only if we were able to reconstruct the whole of it. We are in fact doomed to /.../ make choices as to what was important and what was not and what the meaning of historical events was. Scholars have at their disposal certain rules and methods of avoiding historical distortions. Let me mention but a few of them. First, their ambition should be to precisely specify the issue. Second, they should explore a representative body of evidence. Third, they should carefully measure and compare the importance of historical phenomena. Fourth, they should not draw conclusion of the pars pro toto nature. Fifth, they should specify criteria of assessment of historical evidence. Sixth, they should take into account various dimensions of historical reality and various points of view and carefully judge which are relevant and which are not. Seventh, they should apply logical reasoning. The only problem is whether politicians are willing to use these methods.” (Wojciech Roszkowski) 306
Crimes committed by totalitarian regimes “We have a multitude of national histories in Europe rather than a sum of them. Too often, if not always, national histories were denouncing each other or, at least, competing between themselves in disputable arguments outside of proper, if any, self-criticism. To put such a variety into a comprehensive basket seemed impossible and able to bring nothing but a multinational mess. If we prefer message to mess, new approaches are to be called to emerge. The call is now coming from the new understanding of the European entity as Union. Positively softened retroactivity of views may emerge here. Most of previous internationally treated conflictbuilding cases, especially those based on territorial and ethno-territorial grounds, have already lost their burning radioactivity and, therefore, the splitting force.” (Vytautas Landsbergis) 307
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CRIMES COMMITTED BY TOTALITARIAN RE
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TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE Lovro Št
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IV. REMEMBRANCE, RECOGNITION AND PU
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