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1. ARTICLE OF THE MONTH: THE TRAP OF MEMORY
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Controversy has been sparked off in Germany by a speech by the deputy minister for culture, Hermann Schäfer, in which he said that Germans forcibly expelled from eastern territories at the end of WWII should be treated as victims. The problem: he was speaking at a concert in Weimar commemorating Buchenwald concentration camp, thus throwing memories into direct competition. Schäfer's comments are typical of a wider trend in Germany regarding the wartime past, to which a newly opened Berlin exhibition on the history of forced migration in Europe also belongs.

In an article originally published in "Transit", historian Philipp Ther locates the origins of this shift in the politics of memory in Germany in two camps. On one hand, there are the expellees associations, which in earlier days, he points out, were in some cases led by former high-ranking Nazis and which today are close to the CDU and the CSU. On the other hand, there are former 68ers, represented by public figures such as Günter Grass, Helga Hirsch, and Ralph Giordano, who have been "ensnared" by the global victim discourse.

According to Ther, the '68 generation, having ignored their parents' accounts of their wartime experiences forty years ago, now want to award them posthumous justice -- and thereby process a part of their own biographies. The influence in the media of these liberal left conservatives has given rise to a whole new sector of broadcasting and publishing:

"While, forty years ago, escape was still sought in collectivist ideologies, today the individual 'fates' of expellees are highlighted. What is important is the individual's role as victim and the trauma that the Germans experienced during the bombing and as refugees. These stories sell better than causal explanations about how the expulsions came about in the first place and why, particularly on the German side, the stories of the victims and the perpetrators are closely interwoven."

In Poland, these developments are subject to intense scrutiny. The century-long history of German occupation in Poland has caused an underlying fear of the powerful neighbour that today is felt most strongly by Poles living on former German territory -- one third of the population. Demands from the expellees associations that Germans receive compensation for lost property has meant that criticism of the German victim discourse about expellees has been heavily politicized. However, Ther concludes that:

"The appeals [against the discourse from Poland and other countries], as uncomfortable as they might be, represent a corrective that the '68 generation can provide only as individuals. A dialogue on history can develop out of this, one that no longer revolves around irreconcilable memories, but, in international collaboration, looks for explanations as to why the twentieth century produced so many catastrophes and what can be learned from that today."

Philipp Ther
THE BURDEN OF HISTORY AND THE TRAP OF MEMORY

This article is available in German and English:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-21-ther-en.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-21-ther-de.html

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2. RAMIN JAHANBEGLOO RELEASED FROM IRANIAN PRISON
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"Esprit" editors Olivier Mongin and Marc-Olivier Padis have confirmed news reports that the Iranian-Canadian intellectual Ramin Jahanbegloo was released on bail from the Evin prison in Tehran on Wednesday, 30 August.

Jahanbegloo was arrested four months ago on spying charges, as we reported in May. It is thought that his release is connected to his alleged confession made in prison that he was participating in a "velvet revolution" in Iran.

Eurozine shares Esprit's happiness at the news of Jahanbegloo's release but also their concern over his future. Even though Jahanbegloo has not been formally charged, it is possible that he will have to face trial under conditions that are unlikely to be fair.

Eurozine News Item: Ramin Jahanbegloo released
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-31-newsitem-en.html

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3. NEW FOCAL POINT: POST-SECULAR EUROPE?
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Has the rapid and drastic process of secularization in western Europe come to an end? The recent eastward enlargement of the European Union and the drafting of a European constitution triggered fundamental questions concerning European identity and the role of Christianity in that identity. At the same time, the unease with which Europe considers the Islamic religion and the integration of its European Muslim citizens seems to be about more than just a confrontation between different religious backgrounds; it is also a struggle between secularism and the religious. In a new Focal Point, Eurozine looks at different aspects of this debate: Is religion a public or a private matter? Can there be such a thing as a European Islam? If so, what characterizes it? What role can religion -- or religions -- play when it comes to the emergence of a European solidarity?

Post-secular Europe? With contributions by José Casanova, Daniéle Hervieu-Léger, Jan Philipp Reemtsma, Klaus Eder, Isolde Charim, Ètienne Balibar, Nilüfer Göle, Ernest Gellner, Seyla Benhabib, Giancarlo Bosetti, Ramin Jahanbegloo, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Abdesselam Cheddadi, Olivier Roy, Olivier Mongin, and Jean-Louis Schlegel.

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4. NEW PARTNER: COGITO (GREECE)
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New to the Eurozine network is the first Greek partner journal, "Cogito". The aim of the Athens-based journal of philosophy, say the editors, is to show that philosophy is both relevant and fascinating. It does not try to simplify philosophy in order to make it accessible to the general public but rather to highlight the philosophical aspect of things as they emerge in the public and private sphere.

Read more about "Cogito", including its current issue:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/journals/cogitogr.html

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5. NEW ARTICLES
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Ivaylo Ditchev
CROSSING BORDERS
The utopia underlying the idea that more mobility will homogenize the EU is proved wrong by the observation that increased crossing of borders creates more difference rather than less.
31.08.2006

This article is available in English:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-31-ditchev-en.html

Ingrid Bauer, Christa Hämmerle, Gerda Lerner
"AGEING IS A DANCE ON UNEVEN GROUND..." GERDA LERNER IN INTERVIEW WITH INGRID BAUER AND CHRISTA HÄMMERLE
"Ageing is a dance on uneven ground with weakened limbs, trying out various steps, occasionally gathering momentum and experiencing the dance as it used to be, and, better still, as it is now."
30.08.2006

This article is available in German:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-30-lerner-de.html

Amir Or
ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY HEBREW POETRY VII
"Helicon" editor Amir Or's latest addition to the Hebrew poetry anthology presented in Eurozine.
29.08.2006

This article is available in English:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-29-anthology7-en.html

Yael Globerman
ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY HEBREW POETRY VI
A new addition to Israeli journal "Helicon's" Hebrew poetry presented in Eurozine.
29.08.2006

This article is available in English:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-29-anthology6-en.html

Nikola Tietze
ZINEDINE ZIDANE OR GAMES OF BELONGING
As a highly popular and complex public figure, soccer star Zinedine Zidane offers diverse interfaces for constructions of belonging.
28.08.2006

This article is available in German:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-28-tietze-de.html

Truls Lie
FROM MICROSOFT TO MACINTOSH
Some experiences with Microsoft help to explain why Bill Gates is stepping down. Le Monde diplomatique editor Truls Lie on his conversion from PC to Mac.
25.08.2006

This article is available in English and Norwegian:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-25-lie-en.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-25-lie-no.html

Alain Gresh
POWERLESSNESS AND ESCALATION
Israel's attacks in Lebanon and Gaza are breaking international law and producing a new generation of enemies.
24.08.2006

This article is available in German and Norwegian:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-24-gresh-de.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-24-gresh-no.html

William A. Cohn
THE GROWING CLOUT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
In the globalized world, international law is taking on an increasingly significant role. The "war on terror" and the Israel-Lebanon conflict are its newest tests of resolve.
23.08.2006

This article is available in English:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-23-cohn-en.html

Jirí Pehe
A TOOTHLESS DOG
Despite its unfeasible ideology, the Czech Communist Party attracted 13 per cent of the vote in the recent elections, posing problems for potential coalition partners.
22.08.2006

This article is available in English:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-22-pehe-en.html

Philipp Ther
THE BURDEN OF HISTORY AND THE TRAP OF MEMORY
As an exhibition on forced migration opens in Berlin, historian Philipp Ther discusses the conflict between Germany and Poland over the expulsion of Germans from postwar Polish territory and the reasons for the paradigm shift in some sectors in the way the German wartime past is remembered.
21.08.2006

This article is available in German and English:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-21-ther-en.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-21-ther-de.html

Giancarlo Bosetti, Klaus Eder
POST-SECULARISM: A RETURN TO THE PUBLIC SPHERE
During secularization, says Klaus Eder, religion did not disappear completely. It only became invisible to the public sphere. In Europe, this was a result of the two dominant Christian religions -- Protestantism and Catholicism -- which drove other religious beliefs into the private sphere. He terms the recent return of religion to the public sphere post-secularism.
17.08.2006

This article is available in English and Italian:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-17-eder-en.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-17-eder-it.html

Olivier Roy
ISLAMIC EVANGELISM. ISLAM IN EUROPE
It is a mistake to think that religous and political radicalism among European Muslims is a mere import from the cultures and conflicts of the Middle East. It is above all a consequence of the globalization and Westernization of Islam, writes Olivier Roy.
17.08.2006

This article is available in English and German:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-17-roy-en.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-17-roy-de.html

Danièle Hervieu-Léger
THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN ESTABLISHING SOCIAL COHESION
Nostalgic references to a religious past will not help solve the question of a "European soul". Yes, this past is both glorious and painful, but it no longer exists, writes Danièle Hervieu-Léger. Instead, the weakening of the foundations of religion could prove to be a good starting point for a more specific reconsideration of European religious heritage.
17.08.2006

This article is available in English, French, and German:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-17-hervieuleger-en.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-17-hervieuleger-fr.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-17-hervieuleger-de.html

Nilüfer Göle
THE ISLAMIST IDENTITY. ISLAM, EUROPEAN PUBLIC SPACE, AND CIVILITY
It is not distance from but proximity to modern life that triggers a return to religious identity among migrant Muslims in Europe, says Nilüfer Göle. What we are witnessing today is a shift from a Muslim to an Islamist identity. The religious self for individual Muslims is being shifted from the private to the public realm.
17.08.2006

This article is available in English and German:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-17-gole-en.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-17-gole-de.html

Abdesselam Cheddadi
THE QUESTION OF TOLERANCE IN ISLAMIC SOCIETIES
While tolerance is not alien to classical Islamism, its limitedness is exposed dramatically in the modern era. Today's Muslim societies must consider afresh the question of tolerance, and ask why they find themselves mired in indecision and resentment, says Abdesselam Cheddadi.
17.08.2006

This article is now available in German and French:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-17-cheddadi-de.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2005-12-01-cheddadi-fr.html

Jean Meyer
MEMORIES AND HISTORIES: THE NEW SPANISH CIVIL WAR
On the politics of memory in Spain over the civil war and the Franco era.
16.08.2006

This article is available in French:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-16-meyer-fr.html

Stephan Wackwitz
IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM TRADITION INVENTS ITSELF. CRACOW'S MONUMENTAL PAINTING
The Polish national museum of nineteenth-century art does not represent a real past but the ideas of a group of conservatives from the last century. For contemporary Poland, however, it has become the authentic image of the past.
14.08.2006

This article is available in German:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-14-wackwitz-de.html

Truls Lie, Jacques Rancière
OUR POLICE ORDER: WHAT CAN BE SAID, SEEN, AND DONE
An interview with French philosopher Jacques Rancière about aesthetics, his distinction between "being political" and the "police order", the media as arena of liberation, and about those who cannot make their voices heard.
11.08.2006

This article is available in English and Norwegian:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-11-lieranciere-en.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-11-lieranciere-no.html

Göran Rosenberg
THE FUTILITY OF MILITARY SUPERIORITY
How long will the US continue to rely on military superiority when to do so undermines the political justification for its dominance?
09.08.2006

This article is available in English and Swedish:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-09-rosenberg-en.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-09-rosenberg-sv.html

Ingeborg Kongslien
MIGRANT OR MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE IN THE NORDIC COUNTRIES
Over the last three decades, authors with migrant backgrounds have been challenging and expanding the Nordic national literary canons. A review of "migrant literature" in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.
03.08.2006

This article is available in English and Hungarian:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-03-kongslien-en.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-03-kongslien-hu.html

Artur Klinau
MINSK: THE SUN CITY OF DREAMS
Gateway to the communist empire or stage set utopia? The architects of Minsk's "imperial style" didn't have the city's residents in mind, writes Artur Klinau.
02.08.2006

This article is available in English, Lithuanian, and Belarusian:
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-02-klinau-en.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-02-klinau-lt.html
>>http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-02-klinau-be.html