Contested Monuments: To Destroy or To Preserve?

When the past is contested, monuments are the first to be destroyed. Debates over their legacies raise critical questions: How should symbols whose messages conflict with fundamental constitutional values and human rights be treated? How should commemorative sites with opposing meanings across societies be addressed? Over centuries, totalitarian regimes removed monuments they opposed—should democracies follow the same path? The poster presents the Marie Sklodowska-Curie research project “To Destroy or to Preserve? Monuments, Law and Democracy in Europe” and introduces a decision-making framework for assessing contested sites. Using this framework, possible approaches for resolving controversies include contextualization, counter‑monument/balancing, repurposing, relocation, removal, or destruction. An interactive component will be added to the poster to facilitate discussion on controversial monuments and test the framework’s logic.