Skrytá církev a interpretace soudobých dějin
The clandestine church and the interpretation of contemporary history

Author(s): Petr Fiala
Subject(s): History of Church(es), Recent History (1900 till today)
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: contemporary history; Clandestine Church; interpretation;
Summary/Abstract: The historical interpretation of recent events (contemporary history) has its familiar features. The very fact that historians not only work with sources but also with eyewitnesses who are often associated with them creates special demands for the ‘weaving of the narrative’. Historical knowledge not only clashes with the social (collective) memory but also with the ever-changing interpretations of the individual actors themselves. Therefore, in addition to reconstructing events and interpreting them, the historian also has to re-interpret already-existing narratives. The historian of contemporary events constructs a story within a context which society is familiar with first-hand. Therefore, it not only has the meaning of a symbol which can be related to the past, but it has its own specific, emotional, strategic or directly socio-political dimension. Put simply, the historian of contemporary history not only has to work with historical material and the interpretations which already exist around it, but also with (his/her and collective) experiences, prejudices and interests. None of this is straightforward.

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