Declaration by European youth on the occasion of the European day of remembrance for the victims of totalitarian regimes

23 August 2013, Vilnius

We, European youth from Lithuania, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Latvia and Slovenia:

· having regard to declaration by European Parliament of 23 September 2008 on the proclamation of 23 August as European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism as well as its resolution of 2 April 2009 on European conscience and totalitarianism, Warsaw Declaration on the occasion of European day of remembrance for victims of totalitarian regimes, 23 August 2011 as well as the commemorations in Budapest, 23 August 2012 and Vilnius, 23 August 2013;

· having regard to the conclusions of Council on Justice and Home Affairs of 10 June 2011 on the necessity of the Eurobarometer survey on what do the Europeans, and specifically the young generation, know about Europe’s totalitarian past;

· whereas nine Member States commemorate the Europe-wide day of remembrance of the victims of totalitarian regimes on 23 August: Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden;

· whereas European integration, promoting the respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law, became a redress to the suffering inflicted by two world wars, the Nazi tyranny that led to the Holocaust as well as the Bolshevik oppression. The idea of United Europe also became the response to the expansion of totalitarian communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe;

· whereas totalitarian and authoritarian regimes in Europe during the 20th century deported, imprisoned, tortured and murdered millions of Europeans, acknowledging the uniqueness of the Holocaust, leaving deep scars in the spirits of our nations;

· whereas the memories of Europe’s common past and these horrific crimes must be kept alive to honor the victims and lay the ground for reconciliation of European peoples’;

· remembering, at the same time, all those who fought against totalitarian rule becoming authoritative models in the consciousness of Europe;

· nevertheless the influence and significance of the Soviet terror and occupation of neighboring States are still little known in Europe, especially in those Member States, which did not suffer the horrors of both totalitarian regimes;

· witnessing the rise of radicalism and intolerance, including anti-semitism and homophobia, lack of mutual understanding we acknowledge, that the indifference or denial of international crimes of the past create favorable conditions for the rehabilitation and rebirth of totalitarian ideologies;

We do hereby:

· reiterate the call for European Union and the Member States to play an active role in keeping the memory of Europe’s totalitarian legacy alive and promoting education in this field.

· declare that one of main goals of European Union should be the fostering of young peoples’ civic competences and democratic values, including active citizenship education. To achieve this - invite the Commission and Member States to devote more time and attention to the ideas and needs of the young generation.

· stress the importance of raising awareness and learning the lessons of Europe’s totalitarian past, through education and youth engagement, whereas lack of information or misinterpretations of history can fuel radical policies, inciting hatred, racism and xenophobia, including social or political discrimination, anti-semitism, homophobia.

· point out that all those who justify or deny the crimes committed by totalitarian regimes not only endanger the basic values of democracy, but also insult the victims and their families who suffered.

· declare that Europe will not be united unless it is able to form a common view of its history, recognising Nazi, Communist, Fascist totalitarian regimes as a common horrendous legacy of our Continent, as well as inciting open discussion on their crimes;

· call on the Member States to make further efforts to improve educational programmes of European history, pointing out the clear contrast between the tragic past and the present, and evading radicalism at the same time.

· declare that the young generation needs modern forms of commemoration, that induce genuine interest about our common past in the youth themselves: education about the past should include living history experiences, visits to specialised museums and to sites of crimes and extermination camps, films and documentaries, cultural activities and artistic creations.

· point out that one of the best sources of learning about our common past are narratives by the victims and survivors of Nazi, Communist or Fascist regimes, which should be thoroughly documented as soon as possible, due to the aging of that generation.

· note the need for the more in-depth historic research by independent scientific institutions as well as the regular organisation of international conferences for young scholars from European universities, research centers, employees of museums and other academic or non-governmental organisations, working on the history of Nazism, Communism and Fascism. That would facilitate the sharing of practices, problems and tendencies in different countries at the academic level. The conclusions and main theses of such conferences should be published.

· call the Commission to use more widely its financial programmes, supporting and promoting the memory of the crimes committed by totalitarian regimes, including the Commission’s support for the non-governmental organisations, working in the sphere of totalitarian crimes not only in EU, but also in organisations from the Eastern Partnership countries, which suffered gravely under Nazi, Communist and Fascist regimes.

· call the Commission to actively encourage and support reconciliation within and between societies with a totalitarian past, which can be achieved by admitting responsibility, asking for forgiveness and fostering moral renewal.

· stress the importance of spreading the information, especially through active use of social media on Europe’s totalitarian legacy, victims and crimes committed by totalitarian regimes as well as the lessons to be learned.

Agreed in Vilnius, on 23 August 2013