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The case of Yugoslavia serves to shed light on public uses of the history of Europe by examining the history and geography curriculum and textbooks in French secondary schools since the 2000s, along with the contexts of the teaching of history and of discussions (in schools and in public). By analyzing recurrences and ellipses in the references to Yugoslavia (in particular in relation to Communism, twentieth-century conflicts, and Europe), we can observe the interactions, dependencies, influences, and passages that exist between the history made for schools and the circulation of references and construction of knowledge that figure in discussions in France about the traditional function of history and geography in educating citizens. From a transnational perspective, this article questions the commemorative and historical issues related to socialist Yugoslavia, by comparing trends in the public use of European history.