memory. With regard to the First World War an attempt was made to demonstrate that there is such a minimum consensus of “no more war”. By contrast, regarding the Congress of Vienna, no such endeavour to find a joint European narration can be made out. When comparing the commemoration cultures of the First World War to those of the Congress of Vienna, one can assume that a transnational commemoration and a European narrative of an event may be more likely if said event offers practically no basis for present nationalist interpretations and is not seen a starting point for national traumata. It can thus be assumed that the “House of Europe”, which is currently being installed in Brussels, is not only based on myths, but also on historical events for which there is more than just a minimum consensus. The lecture examines this thesis by comparing permanent exhibitions in museums that show national history, focusing on the “Deutsches Historisches Museum” in Berlin, the “Heeresgeschichtliches Museum” in Vienna and the “Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum” in Budapest as case studies, and pursues the question of whether basic approaches towards a European narration can be found in the museums, and if so, what events they refer to, or whether the exhibitions show „erinnerungskulturelle Trennlinien“. Thus, an attempt is made to detect, in particular, the starting basis for the “House of European History”.
