ABSTRACT
History was a major nineteenth-century preoccupation. It became a prime European publishing business in the later years of the century, because bolstering national consciousness was one of the chief preconditions of “engendering national feeling.”1 The competing nationalisms of the period all looked to the past: combing it for heroes, ironing out its unwanted creases, and mining it to create new edifices for the nation. As a result, this fascination with history legitimized national myths, especially in the years leading up to the First World War. Mythmaking colored the teaching of history, contributed to the reshaping of historical perception, and occasionally blended into nostalgia. After the war, the use of history in national ideology was extended to the analysis of the recent past as each participating country tried to shrug off responsibility for the outbreak of hostilities. This type of engaged sleuthing found special resonance in the 1920s in the countries that lost the war. The study of the past now was a form of justification.
