Monuments of Stalinism and State-Socialism

The collapse of the state-socialist regimes of Eastern Europe was followed by the dismantling of their monuments, which - as statues, mausoleums or other memorials - stood in the tradition of a strictly regulated symbolisation of power. The different forms of relating to and the actual handling of these monuments range from their simple dissembling, their reinterpretation as period pieces, and their incorporation into museum collections, to forms of ritual destruction through fire or beheadings, acts which are treated and analysed by the author in the manner of Pierre Nora's Lieux de memoire. Various examples from Berlin, Prague and Sofia serve to illustrate the changing memory content of the chief monuments of national or state-ideological collective memory.The collapse of the state-socialist regimes of Eastern Europe was followed by the dismantling of their monuments, which - as statues, mausoleums or other memorials - stood in the tradition of a strictly regulated symbolisation of power. The different forms of relating to and the actual handling of these monuments range from their simple dissembling, their reinterpretation as period pieces, and their incorporation into museum collections, to forms of ritual destruction through fire or beheadings, acts which are treated and analysed by the author in the manner of Pierre Nora's Lieux de memoire. Various examples from Berlin, Prague and Sofia serve to illustrate the changing memory content of the chief monuments of national or state-ideological collective memory

Montée et déclin des héros

La chute des héros du « socialisme réel » et l’apparition de nouveaux héros dans les sociétés postsoviétiques posent la question de l’usage des figures héroïques dans les sociétés occidentales laïcisées et dans les « théocraties » de l’Est. Classiquement, la construction et la représentation des héros passait par leur « panthéonisation ». La sphère publique des sociétés staliniennes regorgeait de statues, panthéons et mausolées des héros fondateurs de ces systèmes qui se concevaient comme l’a..

Memory and History: Pierre Nora and the lieux de memoire

The article gives an outline of the concept of the lieux de memoire and presents an interview with its main exponent, the French historian Pierre Nora. Nora distinguishes ,historical memory’ and ,collective memory’, the first of which is the result of scholarly work done by academic historians. Nora's historiographic approach tries to reconstruct collective memory by the study of the ,places of memory’ (i. e. topographical, symbolic and functional places). Nora attempts to analyse the memory of the nation and of the republic of France dealing with symbols, myths and stereotypes which give access to national consciousness. The author suggests the application of this concept to the symbolic topics of Austrian history and historiography.The article gives an outline of the concept of the lieux de memoire and presents an interview with its main exponent, the French historian Pierre Nora. Nora distinguishes ,historical memory’ and ,collective memory’, the first of which is the result of scholarly work done by academic historians. Nora's historiographic approach tries to reconstruct collective memory by the study of the ,places of memory’ (i. e. topographical, symbolic and functional places). Nora attempts to analyse the memory of the nation and of the republic of France dealing with symbols, myths and stereotypes which give access to national consciousness. The author suggests the application of this concept to the symbolic topics of Austrian history and historiography

6. Parler de soi au parti : L’autocritique dans les milieux du Komintern en urss durant les années trente

Dans l’idéal, les communistes occidentaux vivant en l’URSS des années 1930 participaient de la culture stalinienne universelle. Dans la réalité quotidienne, ils se distinguaient de leurs camarades soviétiques par leurs modes de vie et de pensée ainsi que par leurs comportements. Il en allait de même avec les modes de parler de soi institutionnalisés au sein du parti communiste soviétique. Ces pratiques, comme celle de l’autocritique (samokritika), les laissaient le plus souvent perplexes. Ils..