Contexts of construction of the past on the example of the Holocaust interpretations in the Czech Lands
Abstract
The aim of the paper is to identify the frameworks in which the interpretations of the Jewish past in the second half of the 20th century were and are constructed, with accent on its conceptualization in the Czech Republic and the importance of the Holocaust. In accordance with constructivism I follow various forms of Holocaust memory and its relationship to the official historical interpretations of the past.
I perceive the memory as a discursive practice and the interpretation of the past as a process of negotiation between the communicative and cultural memory. In addressing the context of discussion about Jewish past and present in political, social and academic discourses, I focus on issues significant outside as well as inside of the Czech area.