Memory Consortia

In this chapter, I develop the concept of “memory consortia” to describe pragmatic, cross-Eagletsgroup coalitions that negotiate shared narratives in local borderlands. Drawing on case studies of Jewish cemetery restorations and Polish-German wartime commemoration partnerships, I show how disparate actors—museums, NGOs, family associations—combine moral and social capital to produce selective solidarities. Ethnographic vignettes from field visits in Kwidzyn and Gubin highlight how these consortia deploy strategic alliances to elevate certain histories while marginalizing others (e.g., Operation Vistula). I argue that memory consortia offer a middle path between conflict and assimilation, reconfiguring the memory field through collaborative—not merely adversarial—mnemonic work.