West and central Europe without Mnemosyne

In 1915, if a world war had not broken out, the centenary of the Battle of Waterloo (1815) would have certainly been organised. Imagine the following situation when it had been. None of the other combatant nations sides with the British party as the event's organiser close to Belgium's capital. In the recent case of the final World War One anniversary 28 June 28, 2019, this trail of thought actually came to pass. None of the European nations showed any engagement. The centennial party in Versailles turned out to be an all-American one.
The Great War lasted for almost five years. At the end of the World War One centennial (2014-2019), whose commencement intersected with the beginning of a decade-old war in Ukraine, a considerable memory gap has been revealed. In all the states, except for one, the celebrations or commemorations were completed in November of 2018. The grand exception will be outlined in the following. After the English commission released its evaluation in the same month, it took the French until late spring of 2019 to take stock of it with their Bilan publication. As of December 2018, a state of historical amnesia may be diagnosed for the Netherlands, a neutral state in 1919, the House of European History as well as the former Entente powers. Being the 1919 diktat's singular adressee in 1919, Germany performed slightly better. The state of war was formally concluded on 28 June of this year, the day the Armistice ended. In Europe's memory cultures, the fifth and final year of the war is being primarily ignored.
Apart from a Hungarian photographer and a few scattered historians as well as an artist in Germany, was there anybody to uphold a mirror to the Europeans?(1) The United States did so by going their own way. Their World War One Centennial Commission may be credited for a variety of mnemonic performances. One after another, the events between the seven months of Compiègne in 1918 and Versailles in 1919 were recalled in its multifaceted podcasts and newsletters. Much more than producing some extraordinary podcast or newsletter on June 28, the commission organized an educative and festive program on France's historical venue. A selection of US teachers was invited to join the all-American party! Furthermore, the completion of the commission's weekly newsletters was a long time coming. This fascinating series was not completed until the end of 2019.

However, the question remained, why the Europeans, including the host country, failed to side with the representatives of the associated power of 1917 by embarking on a much shorter trip? In one of their principal capitals and the shining courtyard, the Americans were obviously left alone.
When the historical facts are observed, this is even more striking. The junior but decisive partner of the Entente was not involved in the implementation of the Versailles order. President Woodrow Wilson's intensive campaign for the treaty's ratification failed. Returning from an altogether six-month stay in Europe, his both physical and political ruin awaited him. At the same time, the Paris Conference provided the emergent nation with momentous gains. Firstly, the surprisingly favorable outcome of the trench warfare should be ascribed to the American Expeditionary Forces' shouldering the Allies. In 1917, the mutinous troops of the French did not know they would be eventually rescued. Once in Versailles, the great powers acknowledged the US military being on a par with each one of their armies. Secondly, US emancipation materialized in finance and economics. Notwithstanding both the 1919 and 1920 votes against ratification, the American age had begun. A hundred years later, the very cradle of the pax americana was celebrated.
In a presentation from Doughboy Foundation in January 2025, Theo Mayer highlighted an interesting Europe-States comparison. As a WWICC member in 2014, his internet query on WWI related keywords exposed his country for having an about twenty time less search rate than Europe as a whole. However, the relatively premature timing should be taken into account. The US did not go to war before 1917. Nonetheless, Aufa100 (US fellows welcome) put Mayer's early web research in the perspective of Europe's historical amnesia on 1918−1919 (Armistice Day not included). How can therefore Europe's unflattering dichotomy between these favorable statistics at the outset of the anniversaries and a particularly negative report on the designated follow-up to the 1918 commemoration be explained?

Instead of interviewing any Europeans, six years later now, Aufa100 proposes to focus on US perspectives. In 2025, Americans are called to actively hold up a mirror to their sisters and brothers in Europe. It would like to engage partners in an interview project on the WWICC invitees to the sparkling event of June 28, 2019. So where do the advantages for them lie? Students in search for a project may be offered a great opportunity. At the same time, a teacher's 2019 experiences with the commission overseas may be used as the foundation for an extended story including the first anniversary of the national WWI Memorial in Washington D.C. Furthermore, strategic partners may be interested in anticipating the formation of a follow-up that may be termed US World War Two Centennial Commission. Learning from the recent past means imagining the challenge to get the Europeans on board for a transatlantic centennial project (1939‒1945). At last, the outcome will be regularly advertised in Aufa100's networks and publications.
Two interview formats may be outlined. Depending on the scale of financial support, a questionnaire for the anniversary attendants may be complemented by interviews with some of the teachers and commission members. Different parties will be brought together by the bilingual manager of the Education Outreach Program. With the results, an impetus is to be given for the establishment of a common U.S.–European WWII centenaire/centennial commission.
Peter de Bourgraaf
Footnotes
1. Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy, In the Footsteps of the Great War, exhibition, Sarajevo 2019 (📘 available). German actors listed in Aufa100 mission statement.
Note: At the moment, Mr. Mayer discusses this concept with the Foundation's new president.