The ‘Remember. August 23’ campaign, organised by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (ENRS), continues its mission to commemorate the victims of totalitarian regimes and to raise awareness of their lasting impact on individuals, families, and societies.
This year’s campaign also marks the closing chapter of our international educational initiative #WWII80YearsAfter, launched in 2024 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the World War Two. You can learn more about this year-long project at enrs.eu/WWII
Under the 2025 campaign theme ”The Wounds Can Be Healed,” we place special emphasis not only on the fates of individual victims, but also on the long-term effects of totalitarian violence, specifically, intergenerational trauma.
23 August marks the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarian Regimes, established by the European Parliament to commemorate the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939. This agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union triggered the outbreak of World War II and led to decades of oppression, war crimes, and the suffering of millions.
The ENRS campaign aims to make this day a powerful symbol of remembrance and learning, while also exploring how totalitarian regimes continue to shape societies, even decades after their fall. While these events may seem distant, they live on in the form of inherited trauma: fears, anxieties, and silence passed down through generations. Yet, there is hope. As our campaign theme reminds us: “The wounds can be healed. By listening and acceptance.”
This year's campaign: Intergenerational Trauma in Focus
In 2025, the ‘Remember. August 23’ campaign expands its narrative by exploring how the traumas of totalitarian rule are transmitted across generations. These invisible wounds, carried even by those born long after the fall of these regimes, can shape identities, influence behaviours, and hinder reconciliation.
As noted by the director of the ENRS, Rafał Rogulski:
“Even if we were not direct victims of totalitarian regimes, we absorbed the reality of a captive state. Trauma experienced by just a part of the surviving family often permeates entire generations—even those born after 1989. But today, with the intellectual and educational freedom of democratic societies, we have a chance to learn from these experiences and begin to heal.”
To deepen understanding, this year’s campaign features a range of new materials and reflections on the lasting impact of totalitarian regimes. Through interviews, films, articles, and educational content, we explore how trauma, often unspoken, continues to resonate in families and societies across Europe. The campaign also revisits key discussions on memory and history, inviting audiences to engage thoughtfully with the emotional and cultural legacies of the past. By fostering open dialogue and reflection, we aim to inspire solidarity and a deeper awareness of the many ways these histories still shape our world today.
In previous years, the ENRS presented fates of:
— Emílie Machálková (1926–2017), a Czech woman of Roma origin, Holocaust survivor and promoter of Roma culture,
— Johann Trollmann (1907–1944), a German boxer of Roma origin, a victim of Nazi persecution, murdered by a prison guard whom he had previously defeated in the ring,
— Władysław Bartoszewski (1922–2015), Polish social activist, historian and politician, Auschwitz concentration camp prisoner, Home Army soldier, imprisoned several times by the communist authorities,
— Boris Romanchenko (1926–2022), Ukrainian activist, Holocaust survivor, victim of Russian aggression against Ukraine,
— Doina Cornea (1929–2018), a Romanian dissident who had the courage to publicly oppose the bloody rule of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in the 1980s,
— Ieva Lase (1916–2002), a Latvian translator and French teacher who was twice imprisoned for her dissident activities,
— Jaan Kross (1920–2007), Estonian poet and writer, arrested during the German occupation of Estonia and later imprisoned by the NKVD and sent to the gulags,
— Kazimierz Moczarski (1907–1975), Polish journalist, writer, Home Army soldier and author of ‘Conversations with an Executioner’,
— Milada Horáková (1901–1950), Czech politician, sentenced to death during the Stalinist period in Czechoslovakia,
— Juliana Zarchi a Lithuanian of German-Jewish origin who experienced both totalitarianisms,
— Mala Zimetbaum, a Jew, and Edek Galiński, a Pole, prisoners in the Auschwitz concentration camp,
— Péter Mansfeld, the youngest victim of the 1956 Hungarian repression.
As part of the commemoration, we feature the text "The Day Europe Opened Pandora’s Box" by Professor Jan Rydel explaining the far-reaching consequences of the events of August 1939, as well as a guide with useful information about the 23 August commemorations.
The international media campaign will be accompanied by a pin bearing the inscription ‘Remember. August 23’, a symbolic sign of remembrance encouraging politicians, journalists, artists, social activists and young people from all over Europe to discuss the World War II and its aftermath every year. The pins will be distributed in museums and memorial sites across Europe and will also be available at the ENRS’s headquarters at 37 Zielna Street in Warsaw and in selected locations that have joined the campaign.
How can you join the ‘Remember. August 23’ campaign?
The ENRS has prepared a special commemoration guide presenting several ways to commemorate the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarian Regimes.
• The simplest one is to wear a pin and share this gesture of remembrance online.
• Post a photo of yourself with the ENRS pin and let others know what this day means to you, use the hashtags: #RememberAugust23, #ENRS.
• Watch the individual stories of those, who experienced totalitarian violence in different European countries.
• Read the Stefan Troebst’s piece on the Genesis of Euro Atlantic Day of Remembrance and learn Why should we remember August 23, 1939 from Roger Moorhouse’s article.
• Study our free resources on available on our platform Hi-story Lessons.
• Visit a museum or memorial dedicated to the victims of totalitarian regimes and share your reflections.
• Commemorate with others and don’t be indifferent.