Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines a dimension of European integration that is often forgotten by mainstream research: namely the integration not only of European histories but also of European memories. It explores that whether the EU's increasing efforts to create a European memory framework are supported by corresponding developments on the national level. The book investigates wider democratic processes relating in particular to the conservation and transmission of values and the definition of identity on different levels. It argues that the creation of a transnational European memory culture does not necessarily imply the erasure of national and local forms of remembrance. Finally, the book investigates in detail the pressures resulting from European social and political integration and examines how the EU has tried to frame the process of the transnationalisation of memory observed on the national level.