This book examines the relationship between collective memory, democracy, and European integration through a comparative analysis of Germany and Poland. Exploring how competing interpretations of the past shape the future of Europe, it argues that historical narratives remain powerful political forces, influencing debates over national identity, democratic legitimacy, sovereignty, and the European project itself.
Bringing together insights from political science, history, and memory studies, the authors develop the concept of the asymmetry of memory to explain why European integration has not produced a convergence of historical narratives. Instead, shared European memory frameworks coexist with nationally embedded cultures of remembrance, generating new forms of political contestation across the continent. Through analyses of the legacies of fascism, the Holocaust, communism, and the post-Cold War transformation of Europe, the book demonstrates how competing interpretations of the twentieth century continue to shape contemporary conflicts over democracy, migration, security, and relations with Russia.
Combining comparative analysis with discourse-based approaches, this book will appeal to scholars, graduate students, and practitioners interested in European politics, memory studies, nationalism, democracy, and the politics of history. It offers a new perspective on the enduring relationship between historical memory and Europe's political future.
