Exhibiting European History in the Museum: The House of European History
Authors
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Chantal Kesteloot
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18352/bmgn-lchr.10618Abstract
De geschiedenis van Europa en de omgang met het verleden in Europa zijn het voorwerp van recente initiatieven en controverses en dit op een moment dat het Europese project in crisis lijkt te zijn. In welk narratief de Europese geschiedenis ook wordt gegoten, het lokt altijd politieke en emotionele reacties en veelvormige debatten uit. Het Huis van Europese Geschiedenis (HEH) dat in mei 2017 zijn deuren opende, wordt als een transnationale ruimte beschouwd, ook al is ons referentiekader, ondanks alle kritiek hierop, nog steeds sterk nationaal van aard. Hoe moeten we dit nieuwe museum beoordelen? In welke mate verwijst het naar nationale geschiedenis? En is er een dialoog mogelijk tussen twee uiteenlopende initiatieven, namelijk tussen het HEH en het BELvue museum waarin de Belgische geschiedenis centraal staat?
Dit artikel maakt deel uit van het forum 'The House of European History'.
The history of Europe and history in Europe are the focus of recent initiatives and controversies, at a time when the European project appears to be in a state of crisis.[1] Fashioning the history of Europe into a narrative in any format instigates political and emotional reactions. The resulting discussions convey the variegated public debate.
The House of European History (HEH), which opened in May 2017, is first and foremost conceived as a transnational space,[2] even though our frame of reference, notwithstanding our efforts, continues to be defined by a national approach. How should we consider this new museum? To what extent does it refer to national history? Would dialogue be feasible between two initiatives as distinct as the HEH and the BELvue museum, which highlights Belgian history?
[1] See especially the beautiful book Europa. Notre Histoire. L’héritage européen depuis Homère edited by Étienne François and Thomas Serrier with Pierre Monnet, Akiyoshi Nishiyama, Olaf B. Rader, Valérie Rosoux and Jakob Vogel (Paris 2017).
[2] For a detailed presentation of the history of this project, see Anastasia Remes, ’Memory, Identity and Supranational History Museum: Building the House of European History’, Memoria e Ricerca. Rivista di Storia contemporanea, 1, 2017, 99-116. See also the official, very comprehensive website of the museum: https://historia-europa.ep.eu/fr (accessed April 2018) and the book edited by Andrea Monk and Perikles Christodoulou, Creating the House of European History (Brussels 2018).
This article is part of the forum 'The House of European History'.
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