historical memory

Putin Also Making War on Ukrainian Memory

by Richard Ovenden

Victory in war involves imposing one's own version of history on the next generation. Russian forces appear to be targeting Ukrainian archives where records of KGB surveillance and Soviet-era repression of Ukrainian civilians are held, part of an effort to delegitimize claims of independence. 

The Next Election Will Be a Fight over Our Memory of the Pandemic

by Jacob Steere-Williams and Gavin Yamey

Candidates seeking to claim either party's nomination in 2024 are going to try to convince the public that their COVID policies protected both health and freedom. Before they win the votes, they have to win the battle of how Americans remember the pandemic. 

Mussolini in Myth and Memory

by Paul Corner

Italians' recollection of Mussolini and the Fascist regime embody the replacement of historical memory with national mythology—a mythology that dismisses both the violence of the dictatorship and Italians' collective responsibility for it and enables the resurgence of the far right today.

Can the Past be Repaired?

by Sophie Gonick

Menachem Kaiser's memoir of attempts to reclaim a Polish building lost by his Jewish grandfather during World War II raises questions about the right to property as parts of historical memory, and the problematic aspects of seeking reparation through restoration of ownership.

One if by Land, Two if by Sea, and Three if by the Capitol Steps

by Elise Lemire

On the first anniversary of the Capitol attack, and the 162nd of Longfellow's poetic canonization of the Boston patriot, Paul Revere's ride remains a contested and protean symbol for a nation in crisis. 

Flying the Confederate Battle Flag in the North is a Special Sort of Disgrace

by Daniel Koch

Upstate New York was once the most pro-Lincoln and anti-slavery part of the Union. The growing presence of Confederate symbols there insults the region's history and contributions paid in blood for freedom. 

9/11's Memorials and the Politics of Historical Memory

by Marita Sturken

Major 9/11 memorials try to fix the public memory on a moment of national unity that, 20 years later, seems illusory. Other memorials point the way to using the force of memory to encourage critical reflection on nationalism.

New Documentary Examines the Politics that Have Undermined the 9/11 Museum

by David Klion

A new documentary chronicles the personal conflicts behind the scenes of the 9/11 museum, but asks pointed questions about whether the museum supports deeper public understanding of the attacks and their aftermath. 

Germany Faced its Horrible Past. Can the US Do the Same?

by Michele Norris

"A full accounting of slavery is one of terror and trauma, and for decades the natural inclination was to ask, why would anyone want to claim that history?... What happens if we don’t?" Michele Norris's essay features University of Texas historian Daina Ramey Berry.

What to Do if You Unearth a History of Slavery in Your Church, College or Institution?

Many church denominations and denominational institutions like colleges and universities have been pushed to reckon with their past involvement in slavery and consider what obligations that confers on them in the present. 

With a Touch of Wisdom: Human Rights, Memory, and Forgetting

by Antoon de Baets

A historian concerned with memory, censorship and human rights considers whether there is an affirmative duty for historians to promote the memory of crimes and atrocities.

To Save Democracy, We Need Historical Memory to be "Hot"

by Shannon Bontrager

Historical memory can run hot or cold; hot memory, when we make ourselves vulnerable to the pain of the past, is a force that will ensure America doesn't just move on from the needless death of the COVID pandemic or the violence of the Capitol insurrection without committing to justice and accountability.

Review: New Book Seeks To Differentiate Between Confederate History And Historical Memory

"Adam Domby’s book provides a helpful guide through White Southern memory, a place where the Civil War never really ended."

We Are Still Living the Legacy of World War II

by Tom Hanks

The actor Tom Hanks reflects on the false narrative of closure of World War II. The forces unleashed by war and the struggle to reshape the world resonate today. 

Who Shaped the Story of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

by William Johnston

Most Americans' knowledge of Hiroshima and Nagasaki reflects how American leaders in 1945 wanted the atomic bombings remembered more than their real history. 

How History Turns Riots Into Tea Parties

by Stacy Schiff

For years Boston hesitated to erect a monument to the rabble-rousers of 1770. We do not care for the revolutionary spirit to survive the revolution. The revolution, however, goes nowhere without it.

How to Confront a Racist National History

by Isaac Chotiner

"But we have to acknowledge that we’re not upholding history, we’re upholding values, and those are not the values that we want in the twenty-first century."

As Divisions Threaten America, The Pressure To Cancel Presidents Is Dangerous

Any hint of admiration for Lee means automatic cancellation these days but in the mid-20th century, it was ordinary and accepted.   

While Monuments are Being Removed, a Historian Asks Questions

by Andrew Joseph Pegoda

People have a right to walk around their neighborhood park without being terrorized by iconography devoted to people who denied their ancestors human rights.

The Confederates Loved America, and They’re Still Defining What Patriotism Means

by Richard Kreitner

For most of U.S. history, patriotism and white supremacy, the values supposedly embodied by the two flags, have hardly been at odds. Rather, they have been mutually constitutive and disturbingly aligned.