Platform of European Memory and Conscience
A European network of public institutions and civil-society organizations working on research, education, documentation, and public awareness concerning totalitarian regimes.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The Platform of European Memory and Conscience is a transnational educational and commemorative initiative focused on the history and legacy of totalitarian regimes in Europe. It brings together government agencies, museums, archives, research bodies, memorial institutions, and nongovernmental organizations that document political repression, preserve historical memory, support victims, and develop educational work. The platform's stated purpose is to strengthen public understanding of totalitarian experiences and to help prevent intolerance, extremism, anti-democratic movements, and the return of totalitarian rule. The initiative emerged from a series of European debates about how the crimes of Nazi and communist regimes should be researched, taught, commemorated, and addressed through legal and political institutions. Important antecedents included the 2008 Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism, hearings organized during the Slovenian and Czech EU presidencies, and a 2009 European Parliament resolution calling for a Europe-wide platform and documentation center dealing with totalitarian history. The Council of the European Union subsequently welcomed the initiative and encouraged the use of European funding programs. The platform was formally founded in Prague on 14 October 2011, during a summit of the prime ministers of the Visegrád Group. The ceremony took place at Liechtenstein Palace under the auspices of Czech prime minister Petr Nečas, Polish prime minister and European Council president Donald Tusk, and Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán. Its creation was associated with the Polish EU presidency and followed earlier promotion by the Czech and Hungarian presidencies. The secretariat was initially hosted by the Czech Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, and the organization received strategic support from the International Visegrád Fund. Its membership has included institutions from EU member states as well as partners in other European and North American countries. The network has included organizations such as Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, the former German Stasi Records Agency, the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory, the House of Terror Museum in Hungary, and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in the United States. Reference material describes a membership of 68 institutions from 15 EU member states and eight non-EU countries, although membership composition can change over time. The platform is not a conventional consumer brand. Its public identity is built around institutional cooperation, historical research, educational resources, conferences, exhibitions, and advocacy. Its motto is "democracy matters." Major initiatives have included the secondary-school reader Lest We Forget: Memory of Totalitarianism in Europe, a traveling exhibition on totalitarianism, the proposed pan-European memorial for victims of totalitarian regimes in Brussels, the Justice 2.0 restorative-justice campaign, and the Across the Iron Curtain educational board game. It has also convened conferences on the legal settlement of communist crimes, European historical memory, and the educational use of twentieth-century political history. The platform's leadership has included Swedish politician Göran Lindblad, who served as its first president, Polish historian Łukasz Kamiński, and Polish cultural administrator Marek Mutor. Neela Winkelmann served as managing director from 2011 to 2018 and was succeeded by Peter Rendek. The organization has maintained an office in Prague and formerly operated an office in Brussels. It continues to function as a network for institutions concerned with the documentation, interpretation, and public remembrance of Europe's totalitarian past.
History
The platform developed from European efforts to create a shared framework for addressing the crimes and legacies of totalitarian regimes. A European public hearing held in April 2008 during Slovenia's EU presidency called for stronger public awareness, cultural and educational projects, and cooperation among national research institutions. In June of that year, a conference on European conscience and communism hosted by the Czech Senate produced the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism, which advocated an Institute of European Memory and Conscience. The Czech EU presidency and the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes promoted the creation of a Europe-wide platform in 2009. A preparatory working group, coordinated by the Czech institute, brought together representatives of European states and partner organizations. Its development was supported by discussions in the European Parliament, including cooperation with the Reconciliation of European Histories Group. On 18 March 2009, the Czech EU presidency hosted a hearing on European conscience and the crimes of totalitarian communism. On 2 April, the European Parliament adopted a resolution supporting a platform that could connect national research institutions and contribute to a pan-European documentation center or memorial. In June, the Council of the European Union welcomed the initiative and encouraged the European Commission to identify financial instruments for related activities. A February 2010 conference on crimes of communist regimes, held in the Czech Senate and at the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, resulted in a declaration urging more education and awareness concerning communist crimes. In June 2011, the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council again invited interested parties to use existing European programs to establish the platform. The organization was formally founded in Prague on 14 October 2011 during a Visegrád Group prime-ministerial summit. The founding network included public agencies and civil-society institutions from countries including the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and others. Its secretariat was initially hosted by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, while the International Visegrád Fund provided a strategic grant. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the International Visegrád Fund have been identified as strategic partners. During its early years, the platform developed its governance structures, including an executive board, supervisory board, board of trustees, and secretariat. Göran Lindblad served as the first president, followed by Łukasz Kamiński and then Marek Mutor. Neela Winkelmann was managing director from 2011 to 2018, after which Peter Rendek succeeded her. The platform's work has combined research coordination with public education and advocacy. It has supported or organized conferences on memory politics and the legal accountability of communist crimes, developed the Lest We Forget reader for secondary students, promoted a traveling exhibition on totalitarianism, and pursued plans for a pan-European memorial in Brussels. Its Justice 2.0 initiative has addressed restorative justice for victims and perpetrators of communist-era crimes, while the Across the Iron Curtain board game has provided an educational format for younger audiences. The platform also holds annual member conferences and thematic seminars, including the Past for the Future conference organized with the Collège des Bernardins in November 2020.
- 2020
Past for the Future conference
[1]The platform organized a thematic conference with the Collège des Bernardins on 16–17 November.
- 2013
First edition of Lest We Forget released
[1]The educational reader presented accounts of totalitarianism affecting people in 16 European countries.
- 2012
First board of trustees elected
[1]The organization established a board of trustees that included several members of the European Parliament and prominent public figures.
- 2011
Formal foundation in Prague
[1]The Platform of European Memory and Conscience was founded on 14 October during a Visegrád Group summit.
- 2009
European Parliament supports creation of the platform
[1]The European Parliament adopted a resolution backing a platform and a possible pan-European documentation center or memorial.
- 2008
European public hearing on totalitarian crimes
[1]A hearing organized during the Slovenian EU presidency called for European-level awareness, education, cultural initiatives, and institutional networking.
Products and positioning
A pan-European institutional network that connects historical research, remembrance, civic education, and democratic-resilience work concerning totalitarian regimes.
Educational publication · 2013
Lest We Forget: Memory of Totalitarianism in Europe
A reader designed for secondary-school students that uses individual stories to explain experiences of totalitarian rule in Europe. The first edition, printed in 2013, included accounts involving 30 people from 16 countries. A later edition was being developed with additional stories and wider language coverage.
Traveling exhibition
Totalitarianism in Europe
An international exhibition presenting the history and consequences of totalitarian regimes through documentary and educational material. It is intended for circulation among partner institutions and public audiences.
Educational board game
Across the Iron Curtain
An educational game using the historical division of Europe as a framework for learning about life, politics, and social conditions on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
Restorative-justice campaign
Justice 2.0
An advocacy and restorative-justice initiative focused on the experiences of surviving victims and the unresolved consequences of communist dictatorships.
Marketing campaigns
- 2012Legal Settlement of Communist Crimes
European Union
A conference organized in the European Parliament examined whether the most serious crimes of communist dictatorships should receive stronger international legal treatment. It led to the creation of an international legal expert group tasked with developing a possible roadmap for a supranational justice institution.
Outcome. The expert group was established; the referenced material does not document the creation of a tribunal.
- Justice 2.0
Europe
A restorative-justice campaign addressing the needs of victims and the accountability of perpetrators connected with communist repression.
Outcome. The initiative remained one of the platform's principal ongoing projects in the cited reference period.
Brand decisions
2013
Launch of the Lest We Forget readerProduct launchBackground
The platform sought to translate scholarly and commemorative work into resources suitable for secondary-school education.
Action taken
It published the first edition of a reader combining personal testimonies from multiple European countries.
Aftermath
Work on a second edition with additional stories and languages was reported as ongoing in 2020.
2011
Establishment of a permanent European memory networkStrategyBackground
European institutions and national memory organizations had developed a series of initiatives calling for sustained cooperation on totalitarian history.
Action taken
Governments and institutions formally founded the platform in Prague and created a network-based structure for research, education, documentation, and remembrance.
Aftermath
The platform became a coordinating network with international membership and projects spanning publications, exhibitions, conferences, and memorial advocacy.
Recent events
- 2013
Platform publishes Lest We Forget educational reader[1]
Product launch · Campaign
The first edition of a secondary-school reader presented personal experiences of totalitarianism from across Europe.
- 2012
Conference addresses legal settlement of communist crimes[1]
Campaign · Other
The platform and the Reconciliation of European Histories Group held a European Parliament conference on possible supranational approaches to justice for communist-era crimes.
- 2011
Platform founded in Prague during Visegrád Group summit[1]
Other
The network was formally established on 14 October 2011 with the participation of governments and institutions from several European countries.
Sources1 sources
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