Contemporary History on Trial Europe since 1989 and the Role of the Expert Historian

by Jones, Harriet; Ostberg, Kjell; Randeraad, Nico

• ISBN13: 9780719074172
• ISBN10: 0719074177
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-08-01
• Publisher: Manchester University Press

Summary

Since the end of the Cold War, a series of heated and politicized debates across Europe have questioned the "truth" about painful episodes in the twentieth century. From the Holocaust to Srebrenica, inquiries and fact-finding commissions have become a common device employed by governments to deal with the pressure of public opinion. State sponsored programs of education and research attempt to encourage a common moral understanding of the lessons we learn from these painful memories. Contemporary historians have increasingly been drawn into these efforts since 1989 - in the courtroom, in the media, on commissions, as advisers.

Author Biography

Harriet Jones is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London. Kjell Ostberg is Professor of History and Research Director at the Swedish Institute of Contemporary History at Sodertorn University College. Nico Randeraad is Lecturer in History and European Studies, Universiteit Maastricht.

Table of Contents

List of contributors	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The responsibility of the historian	p. 12
Public uses of history in contemporary Europe	p. 27
Coming to terms with the (post-)colonial past in Belgium: the inquiry into the assassination of Patrice Lumumba	p. 46
The Bloody Sunday tribunal and the role of the historian	p. 62
Between scholarship and politics: experiences from the Commission on the Swedish Security Services	p. 81
Historical research where scholarship and politics meet: the case of Srebrenica	p. 104
Negotiated history? Bilateral historical commissions in twentieth-century Europe	p. 123
The Italo-Slovenian historico-cultural commission	p. 144
The state, the historians and the Algerian War in French memory, 1991-2004	p. 159
The German historians' debate about the upheavals of 1989	p. 174
Conclusion	p. 193
Index	p. 201
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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