Inheriting “Difficult Histories”: National Identities, Memory Debates and Cultural Diversity

For some reason, modern European nations have traditionally presented themselves as having a lot of rich and important history, much of it portrayed as being “international” in terms of cultural impact and wider global significance. Today, much of this history appears to be far more controversial than many comfortable national-popular narratives have acknowledged. This article explores how Europe is increasingly being forced to confront more negative and painful dimensions to its past; this involves deeper societal engagement with entangled legacies that are best defined as “difficult histories”. The Netherlands is presented as a central case-study, which explores how two difficult chapters in national history are caught up in debates about memory, commemoration, national identity and new forms of cultural diversity. The overarching goal of the paper is to stimulate deeper reflection on the challenges and opportunities generated by renewed engagement with the kinds of complex historical legacies that are shared, in one form or another, by all nations of the world.