Memory and Power in Post-War Europe

Howhasmemory-collectiveandindividual-influencedEuropeanpoliticsaftertheSecondWorldWarandafter1989inparticular?Howhasthepastbeenusedindomesticstrugglesforpower,andhowhave'historicallessons'beenappliedinforeignpolicy?Whilethereisnowaburgeoningfieldofsocialandculturalmemorystudies,mostlyfocusedoncommemorationsandmonuments,thisvolumeisthefirsttoexaminetheconnectionbetweenmemoryandpoliticsdirectly.Itinvestigateshowmemoryisofficiallyrecast,personallyreworkedandoftenviolentlyre-instilledafterwars,and,aboveall,thewaysmemoryshapespresentpowerconstellations.Thechapterscombinetheoreticalinnovationintheirapproachtothestudyofmemorywithdeeplyhistorical,empiricallybasedcasestudiesofmajorEuropeancountries.Thevolumeconcludeswithreflectionsontheethicsofmemory,andthepoliticsoftruth,justiceandforgettingafter1945and1989.