ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book exemplifies the evolution of memory and commemorative practice from the great conflicts which scarred the twentieth century and made it of necessity into a memorial century the Algerian war of 1954–62 and beyond. It focuses on the changing nature of historical memory, as generations succeed those who lived the events, together with a greater awareness of the extent to which memory is both constructed and culturally embedded, an expression of social agency and an iconic trace. The book examines various aspects of personal memory of the First and the Second World Wars. The memory – or memories – of war are a function of age and experience, of receptivity to the values associated with war, values tested by it, and mediated through imagery and written and oral tradition, history and school.
