Anger at plans for 'official' European history
MEPs have given the green light to a multi-million pound state-of-the-art "House of European History" to be opened in Brussels by 2014.
The project to "promote an awareness of European identity" is the brainchild of Hans-Gert Poettering, President of the European Parliament and a Federalist German Christian Democrat.
"I should like to create a locus for history and for the future where the concept of the European idea can continue to grow," he said.
The European Parliament has approved the plan for a permanent exhibition on history with a display area covering up to an acre.
The creation of the museum goes hand in hand with moves by Germany and France to create a "European history book", to be taught in all schools across the EU to foster a common cultural identity.
But moves to define a "common European history" have been dogged by controversy and deep political differences over events including the Second World War and the role of the United States in Europe.
Adam Bielan, a Polish MEP and vice-chairman of the Parliament, has raised concerns about "serious omissions and misinterpretations" in a 28-page document setting out the museum's topics.
In a letter co-signed by 12 other MEPs, Mr Bielan has criticised language that implies "the outbreak of World War Two was Hitler's success".
He has also objected to wording that states "the last Polish resistance was snuffed out in 1939".
"This is not true. Polish soldiers fought in France in 1940, in the Battle of Britain, the Middle East, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as alongside the Soviet Army on the eastern front," he wrote.
"The Polish underground resistance continued from 1939 to 1945, its major operation being the Warsaw uprising of 1944. The overall number of Polish troops mobilised during World War Two was comparable to that of France."
Many anti-American French politicians regard the US as a negative influence over the continent while East Europeans, in Poland and the Czech Republic, see America as the only country prepared to stand up against the Soviet Union during the Cold War...
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The project to "promote an awareness of European identity" is the brainchild of Hans-Gert Poettering, President of the European Parliament and a Federalist German Christian Democrat.
"I should like to create a locus for history and for the future where the concept of the European idea can continue to grow," he said.
The European Parliament has approved the plan for a permanent exhibition on history with a display area covering up to an acre.
The creation of the museum goes hand in hand with moves by Germany and France to create a "European history book", to be taught in all schools across the EU to foster a common cultural identity.
But moves to define a "common European history" have been dogged by controversy and deep political differences over events including the Second World War and the role of the United States in Europe.
Adam Bielan, a Polish MEP and vice-chairman of the Parliament, has raised concerns about "serious omissions and misinterpretations" in a 28-page document setting out the museum's topics.
In a letter co-signed by 12 other MEPs, Mr Bielan has criticised language that implies "the outbreak of World War Two was Hitler's success".
He has also objected to wording that states "the last Polish resistance was snuffed out in 1939".
"This is not true. Polish soldiers fought in France in 1940, in the Battle of Britain, the Middle East, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as alongside the Soviet Army on the eastern front," he wrote.
"The Polish underground resistance continued from 1939 to 1945, its major operation being the Warsaw uprising of 1944. The overall number of Polish troops mobilised during World War Two was comparable to that of France."
Many anti-American French politicians regard the US as a negative influence over the continent while East Europeans, in Poland and the Czech Republic, see America as the only country prepared to stand up against the Soviet Union during the Cold War...