Bibliogr. s. 81-82

Beside official "policy of remembrance", run primarily by state representatives or public institutions, and embodied in national holidays, monuments or in history textbooks, democratic societies offer the possibility to create a "culture of remembrance" by local actors within the public sphere. These local actors consist of NGOs, civic initiatives, local governments or even of the business sphere, the latter including so-called heritage industry actors (like historical hotels or private museums). As a result, the interpretation of historical narratives tends to become multi-faceted, interactive and inclusive, but the risk has also emerged that historical narratives can be fluid and banal as well. The present essay attempts to highlight how these bottom-up historical interpretations launched by local actors coloured the culture of remembrance in Slovakia, in a country where national history had been a servant of nation-building struggles practically throughout the whole 20th century. As many initiatives for renovating fortresses, erecting statues, organising historical events or launching historical hotels elucidate it, non-state actors have become active and immanent change-makers of the policy of remembrance in Slovakia, having a sometimes intentional, sometimes unintentional effect on broadening the freedom of historical interpretation in the country.