Contemporary History, Personal Recollections and the Politics of History

Abstract

The study refers to the relation between contemporary history in the sense of professional presentation of the latest history and the actors` personal memories. Personal recollection may be understood as an expression of democratization of history. Witnesses` telling, however, may lead to the schematization of stories from the past. The article also reminds of the issue of applicability of individual witnesses for the politics of history as individual experience and experiences can become a means of political argumentation. Within the Czech memory operation, the article notes the institutionalization of remembering and the platforms organizing the collective memory of society. Using the example of the online collection of personal memories Memory of a Nation, the text shows, in fact, marketing strategies of memory initiatives engaging in a public space.