Cultural heritage protection as a tool of developing critical historical consciousness: EU experience

On the European continent, cultural heritage is seen as an aspect of the new “culture of memory”. Since the mid-1980s, one of the directions of the European integration has been cultural policy, and cultural heritage has become an integral part of the identity of EU citizens. However, cultural heritage has only recently begun to be considered in the context of historical consciousness. The article shows the main tools of the EU cultural policy, oriented towards the formation of critical historical consciousness in the light of Europe’s contradictory history.