Memorial symbols of historical heritage in educational projects of the European Association of History Teachers (EuroClio)

Kurbatova Anastasiya Grigorievna ORCID: 0000-0003-1241-7551 Postgraduate student; Faculty of History; Lomonosov Moscow State University 119991, Russia, Moscow, Lomonosovsky ave., 27, building 4 kurbatova_anastasiya@mail.ru

From a theoretical point of view, there is no objection to the fact that two oppositional approaches often prevail at the heart of national history: either the theme of glorification, glorification of certain events and personalities (glorification), or the theme of victimization (victimization), innocent victims. One can also agree with the general position of historians that this historical discourse objectively splits and destabilizes society both in the context of preserving symbols of historical heritage, and in relation to memorials and memorial sites, which becomes a factor of separation at the intergroup and interstate levels.

This topic is reflected in the comparative analysis of European narratives and research conclusions of Russian historians in the works of A. I. Miller ^[1], N. A. Medushevsky ^[2], A. S. Levchenkov ^[3], T. V. Mukhlaeva ^[4], and others.

Considering this situation in the context of the conflict between national historical narratives and the concept of the European supranational model of citizenship, N. A. Medushevsky, in particular, in his research concludes that the education system that has developed in the European Union, despite the presence of certain contradictions, "cannot but be used for political purposes," including the general, a coordinated position on the interpretation of historical facts, the "vision of history" and the historical past as a whole and the formation of new stereotypes of historical memory ^{[2, pp. 17-18],[5, pp. 95-96]}.

The report "On Writing and Teaching History", announced by Special Rapporteur F. Shahid at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly in 2013, became a landmark high-level document that laid the foundation for modern approaches to standards of historical knowledge and education. The report noted that not only the aspect of cultural heritage was added to European history curricula, but also the theme of collective identity and historical memory in direct connection with the topic of human rights protection. Based on human rights issues, a mandatory course on the Holocaust and crimes against humanity by totalitarian regimes was subsequently included in the European standards of historical education. But the main postulate of the report was to promote the thesis of the complete depoliticization of history both as a science and as an academic discipline. In this regard, the report noted that history as a science cannot be the object of political goals and should not promote the ideas of patriotism and historical continuity (Report No. A/68/296: "On writing and teaching history". 68th session of the UN General Assembly. 2014. URL: https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n13/422/93/pdf/n1342293.pdf ).

As today's events in the countries of Eastern Europe, the Baltic States ^[6] and in Ukraine, where vandalism against memorial complexes and graves has been elevated to the rank of state policy, European standards for the preservation of the historical heritage of national minorities and diasporic associations are completely ignored (1. Ustawa z dnia 1 kwietnia 2016 r. o zakazie propagowania komunizmu lub innego ustroju totalitarnego przez nazwy jednostek organizacyjnych, jednostek pomocniczych gminy, budowli, obiektów i urządzeń użyteczności publicznej oraz pomniki. Dziennik Ustaw - rok 2016 poz. 744; 2. The Law of Ukraine. About the prosecution of the communist that national socialist (Nazi) totalitarian regimes in Ukraine, the defense of the propaganda of their symbols. Freedom of the Supreme For the Sake of (VVR), 2015, No. 26, art.219.; 3. Decree of the Supreme For the Sake of Ukraine About the Declaration of the Supreme For the Sake of Ukraine "About the victory of the political regime of the Russian Federation and the ideology of Rashism, the prosecution of ambushes and practices of Rashism as totalitarian and people-friendly". M. Kiev 2 travnya 2023 rock No. 3078-IX).

In June 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation issued a report on the human rights situation in individual Countries. The report highlights in detail "the efforts of Western countries and their allies to rewrite the history of the Second World War and revise its results. As noted in the document, everything is used for these purposes: "distortion of historical facts, attacks on culture and traditional values, "war" with monuments and memorials, persecution of religious organizations" (Report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation "On the human rights situation in certain countries". The Russian Foreign Ministry. 2023, 1050 p. URL: https://www.mid.ru/ru/useful_information/reports/1884435 /).

At the institutional level of the Council of Europe and the structures of the European Union, the policy of historical revisionism to rewrite the historical events of the Second World War period based on the concept of two totalitarian regimes – Nazi Germany and the Communist Soviet Union – logically fits into the general outline of the strategy to create an image of the enemy in the face of modern Russia. These educational standards were used to develop humanitarian ties with the states of Eastern Europe on the subject of decommunization and education of pan-European identity and citizenship. For the neighboring countries that were part of the USSR for a long time, another model of reforming historical knowledge and education was chosen, where priority was given to issues of decolonization, liberation of "enslaved peoples", de-russification and post-conflict rehabilitation ^[7].

Along with the official institutions of the European Union promoting new norms and standards of historical knowledge within the framework of the "neighborhood policy", numerous national and international non–governmental organizations (hereinafter referred to as INGO) participated in the work on educating young people of critical thinking and an alternative worldview in order to resist previous historical stereotypes.

Among them, the undisputed leader and coordinator of historical projects is the European Association of History Teachers (hereinafter – EuroClio), which in its activities relies on an extensive network of partner associations of history teachers in almost all countries of Europe and the near abroad.

Over the 32 years of its existence, EuroClio has developed and implemented hundreds of projects in the field of reforming historical education, introducing innovative teaching methods on the topics of democratic citizenship, cultural and historical heritage, including the problematic and "sensitive" topic of modern perception at the state and public level of memorial images of the historical past ^[8].

One of the first EuroClio projects aimed at the countries of the so–called "transitional democracy" was the long-term program "New Times, new Nations - a new History", which then continued under the title "Retelling the history of a new Nation" (Barton K.C. Macedonia: Retelling the History. Evaluation Report. University of Cincinnati. December, 2007. p. 15. URL: https://euroclio.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/External-Evaluation-Keith-Barton-.pdf). The essence of the project is to carry out an audit of old historical stereotypes, including memorable places and heroized characters, to launch the process of "cleansing" and "disarming" history of obsolete remnants of the past on the basis of demonopolization of the management of historical knowledge and learning ^[9].

An important stage in the formation of new approaches to modern problems of historical heritage and memorialization of symbols of the historical past were two scientific and practical developments of EuroClio, which laid down the directions and principles of the Association's work in this field of historical education for the following years. In 2011, the "Roadmap for Innovative Historical Education" (Responsible History Education in a Globalizing Society EUROCLIO's Roadmap towards Innovative History Education) was published. URL: https://euroclio.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/14-Policy_Paper_EuroClio.pdf ), and in 2013, the "Manifesto of high-quality historical and civic education, as well as education in the field of cultural heritage" was published (Manifesto. The official EuroClio website URL: https://euroclio.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/EuroClio-Manifesto-on-high-quality-history-heritage-and-citizenship-education_Russian.pdf ).

Defining in these documents the semantic characteristics of the concept of "high-quality education in the field of history, heritage and citizenship", special emphasis is placed on the fact that in the traditional approach to historical knowledge, historical narratives are far from reality and subject to various kinds of interpretations and political conjuncture. On the contrary, the standards and methods of historical education positioned by EuroClio destroy historical myths and stereotypes, form an understanding that the past cannot be perceived by all social and age groups in the same way. In this regard, according to the authors of the Manifesto, it is necessary to recognize that the nationally oriented model of interpreting the past through the "mirror of pride and pain" should be critically revised and historical events should be "evaluated in the context of their values and time" ^[10].

These practical guidelines of EuroClio were based on the theoretical developments of leading researchers of the European scientific and expert community, who represent two academic schools on the theory and practice of historical knowledge and education. The first school includes the Georg Eckert German Institute for International Textbook Studies and one of its researchers, Professor of history Barbara Christoph. The second school is represented by the Erasmus University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where the Historical Culture Center was established by Professor of Theory and Methodology of History Maria Kristina Rosalia Grever.

Both researchers are not only recognized authorities in the field of historical knowledge management and the authors of dozens of scientific publications on the methodology of historical education, but also act as consultants and developers of EuroClio programs in their practical work. For example, B. Christophe was the author of policy recommendations for the project "Learning to disagree" (Christophe B., Tribukait M. Learning to Disagree. Policy Recommendations. GeorgEckert Institute. 2021, p. 6. URL: https://euroclio.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Learning-to-Disagree_Policy-Recommendations.pdf ), and in 2010, M. Grever became a member of the Advisory Board of the EuroClio Historiana Internet portal within the framework of the project "Studying European History and Heritage".

The scope of M. Grever's theoretical research included the subject of historical education in the field of heritage. In 2012, one of her first publications "Overcoming Historical Distance: or how to treat the Past as a foreign territory in Heritage Education" was published. In this article, she interprets the process of forming historical thinking through a modern view of the study of heritage, which in this perspective "offers interesting opportunities for understanding the alienness of the past" ^{[11, pp. 875-880]}. In the article "The sensitive past. The question of heritage in education" (2016) M. Grever, discussing the topic of "pedagogy of heritage", highlights the potential of this direction "as a historical and educational field that goes beyond short-sighted patriotism, narrow-mindedness and simplified relativism, helping to develop critical and complex historical thinking" ^{[12, pp. 3-4]}. In her opinion, attempts to explain history through decrees and imposed canons undermine access to essential knowledge and distort historical awareness of the past.

In subsequent scientific articles, M. Grever speaks from even more politicized positions regarding the model of teaching history in authoritarian regimes. Confirming factors are the publications "Teaching War!" Reflections on the popular use of complex heritage" (2017) ^[13] and "Popular use of the violent past and the development of historical thinking" (2020) ^[14], the speech "Necropolitics and care for the dead. Reflections on Controversial Monuments" (2023) (Grever M. «Necropolitics and Caring for the Dead. Considerations on Controversial Monuments». Invited paper: Debates, Destructions, Interventions». URL: https://pure.eur.nl/en/activities/necropolitics-and-caring-for-the-dead-considerations-on-controver).

Unlike the theoretical developments of M. Grever, the analytical reports and recommendations of Barbara Kristof are of an applied nature. She mainly specialized in studying the countries of the "transition period" in the Baltic States, the Caucasus and Central Asia. In general, the focus of B. Kristof's scientific activity can be judged by the topics of her research devoted directly to the countries of the near abroad. It is worth mentioning such articles devoted to the processes of decommunization as "Remembering communism – comprehending post-communism. Analysis of Discursive Strategies in Lithuanian textbooks" (2010) (Christophe B. Remembering Communism – Making Sense of Post-Communism. An Analysis of Discursive Strategies in Lithuanian Textbooks. Eckert.Beiträge, 2010/10. p. 16.), "History lessons between canonization and competence orientation: Some reflections on Germany and Lithuania" (2012) ^[15], "Victims or criminals, or both? How history textbooks and history teachers in post-Soviet Lithuania remember post-war partisans" (2021) ^[16], "Agonistic memory as a relational concept: memories of socialism in Lithuania" (2023) ^[17], etc.

It can be stated that in many ways the subject of B. Kristof's research coincided with M. Grever's scientific interests in the field of historical memory, critical, alternative history, substantiation of the need for a free interpretation of the historical past in accordance with modern realities. For example, in 2008-2013, B. Kristof headed the project "Institutionalization of Socialist Cultural models of Interpretation: history teachers as intermediaries between collective and individual memory in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Lithuania". The project was sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation with the participation of the Institute for Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies of the University of St. Andrews (Great Britain), the Lithuanian Institute of History (Lithuania), Tbilisi State University. Ivane Javakhishvili (Georgia) and the American University of Central Asia AUCA (Kyrgyzstan).

The aim of the project is to analyze "which interpretations of the socialist past compete for interpretative dominance" in these countries and how controversial the "debate around the memory of Soviet socialism" is in society, more than twenty years after the disintegration of the USSR.

To test the assessment of the perception of visualized symbols of the past, a game model is being developed for students on the reconstruction of historical events, which was tested on the Eustory Internet platform called "Confront History anew. Sharing memories of protests and resistance."

At the same time, this program included a free discussion section on the comparative characteristics of "national memory" and "national memory" in the context of interpreting historical facts of the past, including the official history and visual symbols of these events (national monuments, memorials, burial sites).

Almost immediately after the protest movements in Ukraine in 2014, in February 2015, the project "Multifaceted Memory" (Remembrance) was launched, within which the first cycle of seminars on the topic of studying the history of concentration camps and internment camps was tested. The second stage of the cycle took place in June 2015 in Tallinn (Estonia), where an international training seminar on the EuroClio thematic program "Internment without a trial" ("Multi-faceted Memory: learning online and online about Nazi and Stalinist internment and concentration camps" project was held. Historiana. URL: https://historiana.eu/historical-content/units/internment-without-a-trial).

The Estonian Institute of Memory and the Estonian Association of History Teachers participated in the preparation of face-to-face and online training with illustrations about the Nazi and Stalinist camps. The Croatian, Finnish and Ukrainian (Nova Doba) associations of history teachers were represented in the project team. In the middle of the same year, a digital version of the materials on the Internment without Trial program was posted on the EuroClio Historiana Internet portal. The annotation to the materials noted the general historical context of the "camp system" (by analogy with the system of two totalitarian regimes), a system in which "innocence did not matter, in which individual rights were suppressed and dehumanized by political and racial ideologies."

At the same stage, EuroClio launched a digital version of its new project "To silence citizens through censorship. Lessons from the dictatorial and totalitarian past of 20th century Europe." An upgraded version of the placement of information materials on this project on the Historiana portal ^[18] additionally offered educational, methodological and software resources ready for use in lessons and recommendations for conducting classes for history teachers. A new version of these projects, which were also directly funded by the European Union, was released in 2023 under the heading Monument(al) Challenges. The annotation to the project noted that disputes over disputed historical heritage in public places increasingly lead to conflict situations. The main contradictions between different groups of the population arise due to the lack of a unified assessment in society in relation to cultural heritage and national history in general. This implies that the main task of the project is "to meet the needs of teachers for resources and educational materials when discussing sensitive and complex stories with students, including colonialism and slavery" (Lendermann M. Monument(al) Challenges. EuroClio. February 10, 2023. URL: https://euroclio.eu/projects/monumental-challenges/).

The most ambitious and long–term project involving EuroClio together with the Institute of Historical Justice and Reconciliation (hereinafter - IISP) was the comprehensive program "Disputed Stories in Public Places" (2017). The purpose of the project: from the perspective of non-governmental organizations of civil society, to determine the socio-ethical framework of the competence to preserve historical symbols in public places, especially if this splits society and creates social tension.

The Office of the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities joined the project, which held a symposium on this topic at Oxford University in the UK on March 28, 2019. At this forum, the powers of the EuroClio and the IISP were once again confirmed and the goals and objectives set for these NGOs were justified. Noting the long-term scope of the project, the participants of the symposium particularly highlighted the fact that this initiative is aimed at eliminating disagreements over sculptural images, memorials, street names and other symbols related to controversial events of historical heritage and historical memory. Therefore, the main goal of the project is to provide decision makers, teachers and other stakeholders with a set of case studies, updated practical approaches based on the general principles of the Council of Europe for the effective and responsible resolution of historical disputes (Zannier L., OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities to the Meeting on "Contested Historical Legacies in Public Spaces". Oxford, United Kingdom. 2019. URL: https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/9/b/415121_0.pdf).

From a neutral position and with the participation of independent experts from the Association for Memory Studies, the International Bar Association, as well as national public organizations (such as Memorial and European Institutes of National Memory), IISP has formed discussion platforms in many countries of Eastern Europe and the near abroad to discuss the conformity of symbols of the past historical era to modern realities and the need to preserve monuments, memorial graves, street names and other representations of disputed historical heritage in public places.

As the subject matter and scope of the Disputed Stories initiative expanded, this area acquired another programmatic component – the so-called "Online podcast of disputed stories" (CH-Website) in the field of historical education and enlightenment. The semantic content of this podcast is to tap into the visual and emotional potential of disputed historical sites for "teaching, learning and working towards social and historical justice." In addition, to offer educators and other stakeholders "tools to better understand and eliminate the complex legacy of Europe's totalitarian past" (Besnier L. Contested Histories Website. EuroClio. March 8, 2021. URL: https://euroclio.eu/projects/contested-histories-onsite/).

In this regard, the purpose of the open-for-discussion thematic portal CH-Onsite is to use historical and memorial sites "representing past totalitarian regimes as a starting point for discussing with citizens the importance of pluralism, civil rights and democratic practices, as well as to create opportunities for discussing European history beyond national perspectives. The emphasis will be on a variety of points of view, debates and active public participation in tourist trips to these memorials" (Holtberget A. Contested Histories Podcast: Warsaw Uprising Museum. EuroClio. 2021. URL: https://www.euroclio.eu/2021/09/21/contested-histories-podcast-warsaw-uprising-museum/).

Stating in the documents the important role and the need to work on "constructing memory as an increasingly significant factor in the political arena," EuroClio experts noted in their reports that "critical deconstruction of historical narratives will increase awareness of memory practices, common history and values, thereby strengthening the sense of unity that overcomes national differences" (Durand O. The Statue of Catherine II ‘the Great’ or the Monument to the Odessa Founders Ukraine. X Contested Histories Occasional Paper № 177. May 2022. URL: https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/OP-X_Catherine-the-Great_Ukraine.pdf).

In practical terms, four places were chosen for a test study of the problem of historical memory (Case Study) to test the reaction to the disputed totalitarian heritage of 20th century Europe. The first was the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising (Poland) during the Second World War in the context of the role of the USSR and the Red Army in relation to the Polish people. The next one was the statue of the Bronze Soldier in Tallinn (Estonia). The monument was chosen as an example of contradictory ideas about the liberation and/or occupation of Estonia by the Red Army during World War II, i.e. a topic around which the dispute still continues not only in the Baltic states, but also in most Central and Eastern European states. Among the last two mentioned are the Bas-relief of Mussolini in Bolzano (Italy), as a symbol of the image of the fascist regime in Southern Europe and the Valley of the Fallen in Madrid (Spain), a memorial for those who died in the Spanish Civil War and where the remains of Francisco Franco lay before his exhumation in 2019.

The list of promising CH-Website projects also includes:

• Monument to Catherine the Second or monument to the founders of Odessa (Ukraine) (Durand O. The Statue of Catherine II ‘the Great’ or the Monument to the Odessa Founders Ukraine. 2022)
• Monument to V. I. Lenin in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) (The Contested Histories Initiative, «Statue of Lenin in Bishkek», Contested Histories Case Study #93. 2022. URL: https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Kyrgyzstan-Lenin-Statue-in-Bishkek.pdf);
• Monument to I. V.Stalin in Gori (Georgia) (The Contested Histories Initiative, "Stalin Statue in Gori", Contested Histories Case Study #62. 2021. URL: https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Poland_-Monument-of-Gratitude-to-the-Soviet-Army.pdf).
• Monument of Gratitude to the Soviet Army in Legnica (Poland) (The Contested Histories Initiative, "Monument of Gratitude to the Soviet Army", Contested Histories Case Study #129. 2022. URL: https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Poland_-Monument-of-Gratitude-to-the-Soviet-Army.pdf).

The overall assessment of the EuroClio of CH-Website projects is generally quite neutral and restrained and boils down to the fact that raising critical questions about the past is fundamental to developing citizens' critical attitude towards narratives that compete with each other in modern politics (Holtberget A. Contested Histories Podcast: URL: https://euroclio.eu/2021/09/21/contested-histories-podcast-warsaw-uprising-museum /).

At the same time, the project has been going on for almost ten years and during this time dozens of historical memorials, monuments to Russian and Soviet soldiers-liberators, memorial graves have been destroyed and desecrated. There are no examples of direct calls for war against monuments and historical memory on the part of the Council of Europe and the EuroClio within the framework of historical education. But in general, the modern Russophobic rhetoric of the European Union and the lack of reaction to the facts of vandalism to the memorial symbols of the USSR, as the victorious country of fascism, leaves no doubt about the involvement of European official structures and affiliated NGOs in these destructive and inhumane manifestations ^[19].

This is evidenced by the Resolution of the European Parliament of September 19, 2019. "On the importance of European memory for the future of Europe." This normative act, summarizing the contents of all previous EU documents on the subject of "totalitarianism", actually represents a comprehensive educational and methodological manual for teachers of historians according to modern standards of interpretation of the historical past.

Paragraphs 8 and 10 of the Resolution call for "the creation of a common culture of memory that rejects the crimes of the fascist, Stalinist and other totalitarian and authoritarian regimes of the past as a way to increase resilience to modern threats to democracy, especially among the younger generation." To this end, the resolution notes, it is necessary to raise awareness of the younger generation about these problems, including the history and analysis of the consequences of the totalitarian regime in the curricula and textbooks of all EU schools" (Resolution of the European Parliament No. 2019/2819 RSP of September 19, 2019 URL: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2019-0021_EN.html /).

In addition to partnering with various multidisciplinary NGOs, EuroClio has initiated the creation of a number of formally independent Internet platforms in the field of historical knowledge and education. One of these information and educational platforms is the Network of Concerned Historians (NCH). It was registered as a web site and e-mail in the Netherlands in 1995 in the name of Anton De Baets, Honorary professor of History, Ethics and Human Rights at the Faculty of History of the University of Groningen, who became not only the founder of this Internet resource, but also the coordinator of the entire international network of concerned historians ^[20].

In addition, A. Baets holds status positions as a member of the Honorary Council of EuroClio, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief (2021), a member of the Board of Amnesty International, Chairman of the Academic Committee of Disputed Stories.

In the early 2020s, the transformation of the content of EuroClio programs into a negative side towards Russia became even more noticeable. In particular, the actualization of the theme of war in the teaching of modern history is reflected in the work of EuroCleo specialists within the framework of the Confronting-memories project The Civil Society Forum, which began in 2020 (the NGO Civil Society Forum has been specializing in the development of historical, civic and environmental education since 2011, is supported by the German and Dutch Foreign Ministries, as well as the Czech Foreign Ministry (within the framework of the Transition Policy program to support civil rights and initiatives) and the European External Action Service (EEAS)). Within the framework of the project, the program "Memory and memorialization of the Second World War in different countries" is particularly noteworthy. The study of the culture of memory of the events of the Second World War in Belarus, Germany, Russia and Poland". The results of the EuroClio study on this topic were used in the preparation of a collection of methodological recommendations for lessons under the heading "Teaching history using World War II memorials" (Kosyakova D. Materials Lesson a. Confronting Memories. URL: https://confronting-memories.org/lesson-materials/3-remembrance-and-memorialisation-of-world-war-ii-in-different-countries/).

In the handout thematic material for studying in the lessons of this historical period, EuroClio recommended collections, for example, on the following topics: "The Katyn massacre: human rights and the Katyn lie" (Skindzel A. 9 p. URL: https://confronting-memories.org/lesson-materials/10-pedagogical-guide/36-the-katyn-massacre /); "On the "silencing" of history: The Rzhevsky War Memorial" (Cherepova A. 12 p. URL: https://confronting-memories.org/lesson-materials/10-pedagogical-guide/38-rzhev-war-memorial /); "The infamous order No. 227 "Not a step back", etc., the names of which speak for themselves and do not require additional comments.

From November 2022 to April 2024, three symposia and several forums on historical education were held in Belgrade. These events included discussions on the following topics: "Places of remembrance: learning spaces for democracy"; "History and culture of memory for Europe: 60 years of Franco-German cooperation"; "Disarmament of history" (discussions on the teaching of history in the world and countries affected by serious conflicts); "Challenges of monuments" (The EuroClio project "Monument(al) Challenges").

The conceptual and long-term approach of EuroClio to direct participation in the support of its resources in the educational sphere of the modern political course of the European Union in relation to the Russian Federation and its historical past, including in neighboring countries, is quite obvious. This is confirmed not only by the semantic content of new projects in the period 2020-2024, but also by the involvement in this work of proven partnerships of scientific and academic authorities in the field of historical knowledge and education. We are talking about the resumption of cooperation with M. Grever and B. Kristof, whose works were discussed above.

Summarizing his previous research experience, M. Grever publishes an article on the topic "Conversations about the disputed Past: Historicization of historical consciousness in a globalizing world" on the EuroClio website in 2024. In this article, M. Grever substantiates such an approach to teaching history, in which priority would be given not to discussing factual material, but to the discussion process in the context of various opinions and interpretations, which, in her opinion, is the standard of modern historical thinking. The expansion of the range of interpretative frameworks, M. Grever writes, destroys the very idea of "frozen" interpretations of the historical past and "poses the greatest threat to authoritarian and radical ideologies" (Grever M. "Conversations about Contested Pasts Historicizing Historical Consciousness in a Globalizing World". EuroClio, 2024. URL: https://euroclio.eu/wp-content/uploads/Conversations-about-Contested-Pasts-Historicizing-Historical-Consciousness-in-a-Globalizing-World-.pdf).

During the same period, two projects directly related to the Special Military Operation in Ukraine were launched under the leadership of B. Kristof in partnership with EuroClio. These are "Teaching controversial history" and "Appropriation of history in Russian and Ukrainian memes about the Russian war in Ukraine" (designed for the period 2023-2024).

The first project explores a wide range of different information and educational materials on topics such as World War II, the Vietnam War and the Cold War in comparison with the current "aggressive war of Russia against Ukraine." The purpose of the study is to determine which interpretations of these events are "perceived as self-evident, which are met with misunderstanding and which cause controversial discussions" (Teaching Disputed History. Leibniz Institute for Educational Media. URL: https://www.gei.de/en/research/projects/teaching-disputed-history).

The annotation to the second project defines the essence of the research task in the confrontation between two groups of memes: the Russian one, in which "The Putin regime denies the right of the Ukrainian state to exist," and the Ukrainian one, in which "the current war is considered as the last link in the chain of 300 years of continuous Russian aggression." According to the author, such propaganda memes "shape the imagination of young people in Ukraine and Russia", which can be used both in "building digital communities" and as "effective tools for expressing dissent" (The appropriation of history in Russian and Ukrainian memes on the Russian war in Ukraine. An explorative study for the production of blog entries and transnationally applicable teaching units. Leibniz Institute for Educational Media. URL: https://www.gei.de/en/research/projects/the-appropriation-of-history-in-russian-and-ukrainian-memes-on-the-russian-war-in-ukraine).

The project provides for two stages of research. The empirical data obtained are initially distributed according to the criteria of frequency of use and effectiveness of emotional impact. Then, following the results of the first stage, "a training module dedicated to memes will be developed, which can be implemented through the capabilities of EuroClio at the international level," including through educational institutions in Eastern Europe and neighboring countries.

The declared goal of the EuroClio in the field of rethinking the meaning of memorial symbols of historical heritage, including in neighboring countries, is determined by the socio-political request of the state authorities to reduce tension and confrontation of a divided society against the background of a controversial past.

European NGOs and civil society institutions act as impartial, unbiased experts in this conflict. Therefore, the documents of EuroClio and its partner organizations do not contain any calls for the demolition of memorials and monuments. Formally, their mediating task is to provide a scientific justification for the causes of social contradictions and initiate a "free" discussion in society and expert circles.

Based on modern Eurocentric narratives on the interpretation of historical events and the revision of symbols of historical heritage, EuroClio formulates the main thesis of the way out of the crisis situation. Namely, reaching a compromise between oppositional approaches in the public consciousness about the visual symbols of the past is possible only on the basis of recognizing the equal responsibility of fascist and communist totalitarianism for crimes against humanity.

The theory of two totalitarianisms was the basis for two EuroClio training programs on the Holocaust and the history of totalitarian regimes. A special feature of these programs were practical exercises directly at the sites of memorial complexes and the so-called "tourist trips of memory".

Despite official statements and protests by human rights organizations and social movements (the UN Human Rights Committee ordered to stop the demolition of the monument to the Liberators of Latvia in Riga. Minsk-News Agency. 2022 URL: https://minsknews.by/komitet-po-pravam-cheloveka-oon-predpisal-ostanovit-snos-monumenta-osvoboditelyam-latvii-v-rige/ ) the war of monuments in the countries of Eastern Europe and the near abroad continues. Politically conditioned interpretations based on the memorialization of the historical past and the Eurocentric standards of new historical knowledge and education being introduced require appropriate countermeasures and joint efforts of neighboring countries to protect and preserve memorial symbols of the common historical heritage.