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In recent years, the conceptual foundations of European “culture of remembrance” have undergone significant re-examination. While an orientation toward the past and the cultivation of a collective historical consciousness are acknowledged as its defining features, this paradigm is overwhelmed with complexities. Historical memory is tasked with a functional role, making it not merely an object of European Union memory policy, but also a source of contemporary threats and challenges. Consequently, the effective governance of historical memory through regulatory mechanisms has become imperative to forge a unified legal landscape for the “Europeanization of remembrance” and the formation of a pan-European identity. This article analyzes the challenges inherent in legally regulating the European “culture of remembrance” against those consolidated efforts to manage historical memory within the framework of common European values. Over the past two decades, the legal management of historical memory across Europe has grown exponentially. Its trajectory, however, is neither linear nor harmonious – mirroring instead tensions at the national level – particularly following the accession of postcommunist states in 2004, where national identity is often instrumentalized for revisionist interpretations of the past. Furthermore, the EU’s principal requirement to uphold the rule of law has introduced novel contradictions into the region’s mnemonic governance. The paradigm of memory management in Western Europe has been predominantly shaped by the Holocaust as a foundational European narrative, which in turn structures all rationale behind legal regulation. Although the mnemonic legal framework continues to reflect this traditional, Holocaust-centric approach – exemplified by German remembrance culture – it faces growing critique from various political forces advocating for more pluralistic and diversified memorial approaches. Particular attention is paid to a specific regulatory mechanism of memory laws (memorial laws) as a typical form of legal intervention in European states. These laws, which aim to criminalize interpretations of specific historical events, frequently incite “memory wars”, generating scholarly disputes and political disagreements. In this context, memorial legislation, “memory wars”, and the European “culture of remembrance” are inevitably interconnected, constituting integral parts of a larger mnemonic system. Ultimately, the policy of legally regulating and legitimizing the European “culture of remembrance” reflects the political struggle for the monopoly to define a singular, authoritative narrative of the past. This narrative is subsequently imposed upon social and cultural spaces by influential political institutions. This process forms part of the European broader response to contemporary civilizational challenges and an attempt to create a unified, continent-wide civilizational identity.

Keywords: European culture of remembrance; legal regulation of the European memory culture; the Holocaust; Europeanization of the culture of remembrance; historical memory; collective memory; memory wars; memorial laws