No. 60 - The issue of collective memory in the light of the Polish-German treaty on good neighborliness and friendly cooperation from 1991

Europe is a collection of nations with such a varied past that their canons of the collective memory must often miss each other, exclude and fight. We cannot escape from the confrontation or rivalry between the national memory, especially that they touch the very sensitive layers of identity, international prestige and legitimacy of property claims. What is worse, the temptation to possess the interpretation of the past, to establish a cultural hegemony, to dominate over the minds and emotions of human internationally - is clearly growing. The relatively recent phenomenon are the ceremonial apologies, demands of admission of guilt and official requests for forgiveness. There has been formed a ritual of penance and reconciliation, the use of ceremonial phraseology and the performance of the solemn gestures in times and places of appropriate significance by high-ranking state personalities, prime ministers, presidents and ministers. Sometimes this new "historical morality" is reflected in bilateral and multilateral declarations or in the international agreements, often in the preambles containing a presentation of intentions and values, which guide the agreement.