Guardians of Living History

Dr Inge Melchior defended her PhD thesis in the Social and Cultural Anthropology department of the VU University Amsterdam in 2015. She has published on her ethnographic fieldwork in Estonia as well as on her later applied research experience. She currently works at Maastricht University.

"Guardians of Living History is an enriching contribution to the existing research on memory studies and national identity. [...] [It] is a brilliant introduction for readers interested in the former Eastern Bloc and its memory cultures, in Estonia as well as other countries with similar transitions from communist regimes to competing discourses on memory and representation. [...] Additionally, Melchior’s multi-disciplinary approach that combines anthropological and historical methods will undoubtedly serve as inspiration for academics from various fields. As the former Soviet republics continue to scrutinize the Russian Federation’s political interest in its own perceived backyard, this study will undoubtedly retain its relevance for a time to come."- Douglas Ong, Department of History, Greifswald University, H-Soz-Kult 12.11 (2021) "Guardians of Living History is a well-written and carefully-argued study of memory making and memory activism in Estonia from the 1980s through the mid-2010s ... [It is] a welcome addition to our understanding not only of how vital memories of World War II are for a country incorporated later into the Soviet Union, but also of how those memories shaped political and social developments following independence. Students of Eastern Europe will benefit from its keen insights."- Steven T. Duke, The Russian Review, Vol. 79, No. 4 (2020)

• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION: PERSISTING PASTS IN THE MARGINS OF EUROPE PART 1: THE MAKING OF ESTONIAN HISTORY CHAPTER 1: MAKING AN EMOTIONAL "HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE" PART 2: THE MEANING OF CLOSURE CHAPTER 2: ON THE MARGINS OF HISTORY: GOOD OLD SOVIET TIMES CHAPTER 3: PERSONAL MEMORIES BECOMING NATIONAL HISTORY CHAPTER 4: POSTMEMORY: THE INHERITED OBLIGATION TO SECURE THE FUTURE CHAPTER 5: COMMITTED TO THE PAST: MEMORY ACTIVISTS IN SEARCH OF DIGNITY AND JUSTICE PART 3: CLOSURE AND A SIGNIFICANT OTHER CHAPTER 6 WWII ON THE PERIPHERY OF EUROPE: A CONTESTED CHAPTER CONCLUSION: GUARDIANS OF LIVING HISTORY LIST OF INFORMANTS FULL REFERENCE LIST INDEX