On History And Why It Fascinates Us: Nostalgia, Romance and Fascination

Recently, I posted a picture on my Instagram account during my visit to Riga where I made a tongue in cheek comment on my fascination and interest in soviet art, particularly Avante Garde styles in architecture. A follower and classmate of mine disagreed with my comment and corrected me for my word choice and the underlying fallacies and inaccuracies in my post. As someone from a baltic country herself, she believed that the post could be defaming in nature and be a sign of disrespect of Latvian culture as its richness could not be attributed to its soviet past. Though fazed by her words initially, I tried to understand the source of my passion for the subject, why I chose to write that comment on my post, and how my actions could have some possible implications for analysis and discussion.

Despite all that I had learnt from both my professors and my own reading about the cruelty and repressive nature of the Soviet regime, there was a certain element of fascination and preoccupation with the subject that spurred me on to further my understanding and broaden my knowledge. The same can be said for all of us, in fact as our popular discourse continues to be shaped by the evolutions in the narratives and representations of the past, a theme which is coincidentally also one of my core modules this semester.

I thought about how the Nazis burnt pre-third Reich books to erase history or even about how many aspects of the soviet union remained undisclosed until its collapse in 1990. Perhaps the lifting of the veil has contributed to the urgency and need for knowledge? We seem to be after the knowledge that cannot be easily obtained or marred with taint amidst the brutal and bloodied pages of histories.

A Fascination with the Bloody Chapters of History?

Regardless of where we are from, there are some events and periods in history all of us seem to know about, no matter what, such as the First and Second World Wars, and the Cold War proxy conflicts, for example. ‘War tourism’, the common pejorative term employed due to lack of a better word choice, has grown into a giant industry among a significant number of European countries, for instance, as people from all corners of the globe visit second world war memorials and museums. There is also a certain degree of interest simply because of the embeddedness of European culture and soft power as it continues to be featured in our history books, political discourse and pop culture.

Speaking from personal experience here as well, it often takes nearly two months of booking in advance to visit the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam due to oversubscription especially during the fall and winter breaks as people flock to the picturesque canal city of Amsterdam to witness one of the most lasting symbols for Jewish resistance against the Nazis. Visiting such historical sites of mass genocide such as the Killing Fields of Cambodia and Auschwitz in Poland are growing widespread among tourists, regardless of age or country. People want to understand and decipher the brutal pasts they have read so much about, especially because Second World War history still remains recent and relevant in today’s context. SItes of mass genocide depict the cruel and vicious fight of man against man and the ramifications these can have on today’s society. Consequently. many European countries like Germany and Poland have sought to re-vitalise and tell the stories of the Holocaust as they deem it an important part of their nation’s suffering. Nowadays, it seems to be nearly unfathomable to understand Nazi history without taking into account the gruesome and heinous crimes that were committed against the Jews and other groups. These have even become an important part of

Deciphering ‘Historical Nostalgia’ Or?

We probably have figured that we at the individual and societal level, remain a product of our pasts and our shared histories. History and nostalgia remain inextricably linked as we yearn to gain better clarity and understanding about our pasts. This understanding extends to collective memory and remembrance as we try to mould our ways of thinking.

There is also a certain imprint of memory in this case as they remain powerful marks of history, especially for individuals and stakeholders who still remember or recollect certain events or periods in history. Many countries with colonial pasts even commemorate and celebrate their history. There is no shortage of commemorative statues and structures in countries like India and Singapore as governments have helped preserve these relics of hegemony and power, nonetheless. It seems that colonial nostalgia is never truly indelible and is kept alive even till this day as an ode to a nation’s political and historical fabric. On the other hand, some countries like Ukraine have decided to go the other way and suppress as much of their past as possible, particularly with the collapse of the Lenin statue of the Soviet era, commonly referred to ad Leninfall. This may be seen as a sign of reclaiming the past as well as suppressing and shunning unfavourable elements and aspects from history. Moreover, Holocaust memorials and remembrance symbols are common motifs in European countries not exactly for the sake of nostalgia, but for the preservation of the atrocities that were committed against mass groups of people.

Perhaps the high incidence of war tourism highlights the importance of history, particularly when it comes to remembrance and commemoration as to prove that what is dead, may never truly die and that innocent lives were not simply fodder for the history books, archives and current political discourse we may occasionally remember and acknowledge. When we visit such places, we owe it to the people to show utmost respect and contribute our time to better understand, gain a sense of appreciation for their struggles and better understand the implications it may have in the present day. Therefore, it is imperative that we prevent the ultimate vice of the ‘death of culture’ as our heritage and experiences must be passed down either through oral or written histories.