In the book by renowned German researcher of historical memory, Aleida Assmann, there is an impressive attempt to summarize the theoretical debates on how social representations of the past are formed. What underlies the human ability to remember and to forget? How does individual memory serve not only as direct evidence of the past but also as a symptom reflecting the cultural context of the one remembering?

The material that allows for tracing the ever-changing trajectories of these theoretical debates is the tragic history of the 20th century.