History and popular memory : the power of story in moments of crisis

301 Pages·2014·3.08 MB·English

by  Nevskij Aleksandr

popular
and
memory
≠
The power of sTory
in momenTs
of crisis
paul a . cohen
History
and PoPular
MeMory
≠

History
and PoPular
MeMory
≠
The Power of STory
in MoMenTS
of CriSiS
Paul a. CoHen
Columbia university Press
New York
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2014 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cohen, Paul A.
History and popular memory : the power of story in moments of crisis /
Paul A. Cohen.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-16636-2 (cloth : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-231-53729-2 (e-book)
1. Historiography—Social aspects—Case studies. 2. Collective memory—
Case studies. 3. Crises—History—Case studies. 4. Kosovo, Battle of,
Kosovo, 1389—Influence. 5. Masada Site (Israel)—Siege, 72–73—
Influence. 6. Goujian, –465 b.c.—Influence. 7. Joan, of Arc, Saint,
1412–1431—Influence. 8. Aleksandr Nevskii (Motion picture)—Influence.
9. Henry V (Motion picture : 1944)—Influence. I. Title.
D13. C589 2014
907.2—dc23
2013032842
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent
and durable acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover design: Lisa Hamm
References to websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible
for URLs that may have expired or changed since the
manuscript was prepared.
for JeSSe, Julia, and Talya
’

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
1 The Battle of Kosovo of 1389 and Serbian Nationalism 1
2 The Fall of Masada and Modern Jewish Memory 33
3 Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese Nationalist Policy,
and the Story of King Goujian 67
4 The Enigma of the Appeal of Joan of Arc in Wartime France 109
5 Artful Propaganda in World War II:
Eisenstein’s Alexander Nevsky and Olivier’s Henry V 149
Conclusion 193
Notes 213
Index 265

IllustratIons
Maps
1. Yugoslavia, 1945–1991 (with Kosovo inset) 21
2. Palestine under the British Mandate, 1922–1948,
and the UN partition of 1947 44
3. Eastern and central China, ca. 1900–1950
(with locations of ancient states) 70
4. France, 1429 116
5. Russia, thirteenth century 152
Figures
1.1. Prince Lazar, late seventeenth-century image 3
1.2. Fresco of Miloš Obilić, with the halo of a saint 5
1.3. Drawing of Petar Petrović Njegoš (1813–1851) 13
2.1. The way leading up to Masada 35
2.2. Yitzhak Lamdan 45
3.1. Goujian tastes Fuchai’s stool 73
3.2. Graphic depiction of “sleeping on brushwood
and tasting gall” 75
3.3. The Maiden of Yue teaching swordsmanship to a Yue soldier 80
3.4. Illustrated chart of the different kinds of national humiliation 88
3.5. Portrayal of Chiang Kai-shek on book cover 99