From Patriotic Memory to a Universalistic Narrative?

On the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January 2012, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg publicly apologized for the participation of Norwegians in the mass murder of European Jews during the Second World War. This statement has been hailed as a landmark in the turn to a self-critical memory. But has a transition or even transformation from heroic, national and patriotic memories to more universalistic or cosmopolitan remembrances occurred? Taking Norway as an example, the contributions to this volume provide answers to this question. They concentrate on the narratives of resistance and the Holocaust, relating findings and insights on Norway to the main trends in the development of memory cultures in Western and Central Europe.