ABSTRACT
This chapter gives an overview of the major themes of the volume. Sacralized history has been a widespread—sometimes, the central—mnemonic strategy in the Eastern European nations over the past few decades after the breakup of the communist/socialist era. The reason of the upsurge of such sacralization efforts was its powerful emotional energy, a relative weakness of the tradition of rational political mechanics, and the legitimacy-seeking populist policies of the ruling regimes. The process of sacralization turned into bitter contestations over history and its sacra by various nations and political actors.
