Gedächtnis und Geschichte

Pierre Nora und die lieux de memoire

Abstract

The article gives an outline of the concept of the lieux de memoire and presents an interview with its main exponent, the French historian Pierre Nora. Nora distinguishes ,historical memory’ and ,collective memory’, the first of which is the result of scholarly work done by academic historians. Nora's historiographic approach tries to reconstruct collective memory by the study of the ,places of memory’ (i. e. topographical, symbolic and functional places). Nora attempts to analyse the memory of the nation and of the republic of France dealing with symbols, myths and stereotypes which give access to national consciousness. The author suggests the application of this concept to the symbolic topics of Austrian history and historiography.