Helle Bjerg Livres

This book presents new developments in Scandinavian memory cultures related to World War II and the Holocaust by combining this focus with the perspective of history didactics. The theoretical framework of historical consciousness offers an approach linking individual and collective uses and re-uses of the past to the question how history can and should be taught. It also offers some examples of good practice in this field. The book promotes a teaching practice which, in taking the social constructivist notions of historical consciousness as a starting point, can contribute to self-reflecting and critical thinking - being fundamental for any democratic political culture.

How can we approach historical remembrance in history teaching? This question lies at the heart of the three-year, EU-funded project TeacMem, which involves partners from Denmark, Germany and Norway. The participants (teacher trainers, historians, teachers, memorial educators, disseminators and students) have studied the memory cultures regarding the Nazi era and World War II in the three countries. Together, they have developed and tested a range of educational methods focusing on the development of historical and intercultural competence in memorials and schools.