Celebrating Liberation: The Commemoration and Instrumentalisation of the End of the Second World War in Contemporary Czech and Slovak Politics

This book contributes to the discussion about the instrumental use of history. Itanalyses two examples of public festivities related to the events and legacy of the finalstage of World War II. The first of these commemoration events is the Liberation Festivalin Pilsen, a public event celebrating the liberation of Pilsen in 1945. The secondevent is the celebration of the Slovak National Uprising anniversary, held annuallyin Banská Bystrica. The analysis focuses on the manner in which public commemorationsof historical events are used and instrumentalised by contemporary politicalelites. Prior to the political and social relevance of the analysed events, the narrativesthey produce are transcending into the cultural and commercial spheres.