German Past Czech Borderland in the Historical Consciousness of the Population of Karlovy Vary Region
Abstract
A contribution with a regional focus will concentrate its attention on the West Bohemian borderland, specifically the Karlovy Vary Region. For centuries, it was largely shaped by the German-speaking population.
The authors will focus here on the question of historical consciousness of the Karlovy Vary Region current residents, when it comes to the German past of the region in which they live. Using a quantitative survey and visualisation by means of comparative mental maps of the Gould and Lynch type, they examine the views of and attitudes to selected historical milestones in Czech-German relations, historical consciousness of the existence of the German population and its effect in the region under study and, last but not least, the relationship to the current German ethnic minority.