ABSTRACT
In the conclusion, we pause to reflect on the presence of the past in contemporary discourse, and the intersection of different narratives about a particularly turbulent moment in European and world history. Some, but by no means all, of these narratives are framed and disseminated by states. Others tell stories of injuries and grievances suffered 100 years ago by families and individuals in the kaleidoscope of violence beginning in 1914 and continuing until 1924. The recent centennial commemorative wave focussing on 1914–1918 differed from earlier centenaries in that now the internet and social media permit instant access to online documentation and the means of connecting with other like-minded people anywhere on earth. The civilianisation of war began before 1918 and continued well after the Armistice. That erasure of the distinction between civilian and military targets in periods of armed conflict was one facet of the period we study here. The other is the resilience of people in Central and Eastern Europe, many of whom were able to build or rebuild states after the collapse of European empires in 1918. The dialectic between violence and creativity, and between suffering and resilience, we believe, is still being played out in our own time.
