ABSTRACT

Contrary to Robert Musil’s infamous claim that ‘there is nothing so invisible as a monument’ (1995: 61), they seem to be very visible in many parts of the world – most notably in Eastern Europe. While monuments tend to valorise significant events or individuals, memorials are primarily places of mourning and reflection. Influenced by the fall of the Berlin Wall, my interest in collective memory began with three interlinked questions: What can we learn from the recent past? How should societies deal with difficult pasts? Why do certain monuments seem to represent the past more powerfully than others?