Memory Archipelago of the Communist Past: Public Narratives and Personal Recollections

Description

This book looks at the memory of the communist past in Central and Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on Bulgaria: its “official” memory, constructed by institutions, its public memory, molded by media, rituals, books and films and the urban environment, and the everyday or ‘vernacular’ memory. It investigates how the recent past is remembered and the circumstances upon which this memory is conditioned - how is communism/socialism construed as a public recollection? Do these processes differ in the distinct post-communist countries? The book’s first part traces the institutional and political dimensions of coping with the communist past and the second part concentrates on personal reminiscences and vernacular memory. The book will be of interest for researchers and students in the fields of memory studies, Central and East European studies, oral history and contemporary history, as well as for specialists at institutions of memory and memory activists and organisations. Acknowledgements Contents About the Author List of Figures Chapter 1: Introduction: Navigating the Memory Archipelago What Do we Talk about when we Talk about Memory? How to Look into Memory: Narrative as Lens Grand Narratives and Life Stories References Part I: Politics of Memory and Memory Cultures Chapter 2: The New ‘Grand Narrative’: Coping with the Past Politics of Memory: “Holocaustization” of Communism? Mnemo-Political Regionalization: Two European Cultures of Memory References Chapter 3: Politics of Justice: Transitional Justice Legislative Condemnation and Criminalization of the Communist Regime Justice for the Victims Rehabilitation Restitution of Property Perpetrators’ Accountability—from the Judicial to the Moral Sphere Criminal Prosecution Lustration References Chapter 4: Politics of Recognition Establishing the Facts: The Archival Revolution Politics of Truth and Institutions of Memory Constructing a New Historical Narrative: Historians’ Commissions Institutes of Memory The Emergence of Memory Cultures: Memorialization and Musealization The Memory of the Victims in Public Spaces Museum Narratives of Communism References Part II: Memory Narratives and Mnemonic Communities Chapter 5: ‘Thorns in the Spirit’: Traumatic Narratives Trauma and Memory Collective Trauma? Is It Possible? Communist Repressions as Cultural Trauma Belene as Topos in the Traumatic Narrative Public Memory: Sites, Topoi, Plots Local Memory in Belene: Topoi, Tropes, Plot Lines The Community Narrative: “Here We Are Split in Two” The Past: Floods, Mud, Polenta Socialist Reforms: Housing, Asphalt, Sidewalks The Island: “Sheer Heaven, Golden in Our Eyes” The Camp in Local Memory: Traumatic Repression or Limited Rationality Edification of Memory? Bare Life and damnatio memoriae The Politics of Pity and Local Public Life References Memories and Memoirs Chapter 6: ‘Sorrow, Almost Hope’: Nostalgic Narratives The Concept—From Medicine to Cultural Critique Nostalgia and Neostalgia in the Post-socialist Context Retrospective Mirages: Nostalgia as a Biographical Phenomenon Everyday Socialism Serenity and Security Solidarity in the Micro-community: One’s Own, Not the Regime Lost Values Homo Nostalgicus without a Stigma On the Normality of Post-communist Nostalgia Facing the Challenges of Transition Nostalgic Generation? On the Abnormality of Post-communist Nostalgia References Chapter 7: Conclusion: Is There Hope for Memory? References Index