Politics of the past: the use and abuse of history - Socialists ...

The European dimension of Nazi and Stalinist crimes has not yet
been properly addressed. Mass murders are just as much facts of
our history as the great achievements of culture and trade and the
treatment of the perpetrators should not be differentiated.
Preventing any repetition of the horrors of the twentieth century
was the central motive of the founding fathers of the European
Communities. A common European vision should be a solid base
for common goals. If these goals are to be pursued, the traumas of
the past must be healed. We must recognise and analyse not only
the history of Western Europe but also of Eastern Europe.
By acknowledging the significance of August 23, the European
Union will acknowledge the equal standing of its new member
states in the common history of East and West, both the post-communist
states and the long-established democracies, both Stalinism
and Nazism. That is why I would like to add to the dates we
commemorate in Europe a day of remembrance for the victims of
Nazism and Stalinism.
217 Marianne Mikko