Prague, 29 July – High representatives of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania have signed a joint appeal to the leaders of the EU institutions, stressing that the Russian war in Ukraine makes it necessary for the EU to pay more attention to condemning the crimes of all 20th century totalitarian regimes and to commemorating the victims of these regimes. The current call follows the European Parliament’s resolution “On European Conscience and Totalitarianism“ of 2 April 2009, to establish a memorial for the victims of all totalitarian regimes.
The appeal was signed by Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
“All of Europe must understand what happens when the crimes of totalitarian regimes go unpunished. Russia is currently repeating the crimes of the Soviet regime in Ukraine every day. While the end of the Second World War meant peace for the countries of Western Europe, then for Estonia and other countries in our region, it brought along new mass killings, deportations, and repression by communist regimes. In order to stop the Kremlin’s war machine and to bring war criminals to justice, we need to understand the roots of Russian imperialism,” explained Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
“In addition to the crimes of Nazism, the facts about the crimes of the ideology of Communism, which has been responsible for millions of victims in parts of Europe, cannot be ignored in the long term. Such an approach weakens the EU as a whole, which is being exploited by a third parties. Such a symbolic place of remembrance is a very important return to the essence of a united Europe and for the better resilience and future of the EU itself,” said Platform President Marek Mutor.
The heads of state call on the EU to take a coordinating role to address the issue more broadly in EU Member States, especially at a time when Russia is intensively targeting Europe with misinformation.
Dear Colleagues,
The brutal unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine signals about the rise of authoritarianism that neglects and even seeks to destroy the international rules-based order. This is an alarming reminder of not very distant past, notably the crimes committed by two cruel totalitarian regimes of the 20th century in Europe – Nazism and Communism.
The background and the roots of the current Kremlin regime ideology represent, in many cases, a reflection of the predecessors of recent Russia: the USSR and the Russian Empire. Russia has never condemned the crimes of the Soviets and its current leadership openly tolerates and even enthusiastically supports the Soviet legacy. There is a need to strengthen efforts on the EU level to fight the attempts of Russia to rewrite the history and use the narratives of totalitarian regimes in the context of war against Ukraine, by using legal, political and awareness raising instruments. Without an accurate, honest and comprehensive assessment of the past, we will not be able to effectively prevent future crimes on our continent or investigate the current ones in Ukraine.
The democratic world has decisively condemned the Nazi regime and brought to justice its leaders and perpetrators. The bitter lessons of the Nazism and the crimes perpetrated by the regime have become an obligatory part of teaching about the history in our educational systems. At the same time, the memory and knowledge of Soviet crimes have yet to find their rightful place in the consciousness of the Europeans.
Today more than ever clear and visionary leadership is needed, to promote the European Remembrance narratives across the whole EU, which in the end should become a part of all Member States national educational programs. The EU is best positioned to take up this coordinated role, and such a gesture would also be timely and highly relevant, in the light of an unprecedented level of Russian disinformation and misinformation, including on issues of the European history.
In the recent years, important steps have been made on the European level by establishing the Platform of European Memory and Conscience. The EU could do more by providing the Platform with necessary political and financial resources. The establishment of a Pan-European Memorial for the Victims of Totalitarianism in Brussels would be a very important step in ensuring proper remembrance of crimes committed by totalitarian regimes, including the Soviet one, in our awareness-raising efforts in order to prevent similar crimes and to stop them in Ukraine, and in paying our tribute to the victims.
We very much count on your personal engagement and support for these initiatives which could be addressed in the EU Council.
Sources:
- Estonia joins Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania in the proposal to the EU for a broader commemoration of the crimes of Communism
- Joint letter on European memory