Hope and Memory

Lessons from the Twentieth Century

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by Tzvetan Todorov,

Translated by David Bellos

Princeton University Press

Due/Published December 2003, 376 pages, cloth

ISBN 0691096589

Both a political history and a moral critique of the twentieth century, this is a personal and impassioned book. Identifying totalitarianism as the major innovation of the twentieth century, Tzvetan Todorov examines the struggle between this system and democracy and its effects on human life and consciousness.

Totalitarianism managed to impose itself because, more than any other political system, it played on people's need for the absolute: it fed their hope to endow life with meaning by taking part in the construction of a paradise on earth. As a result, millions of people lost their lives in the name of a higher good. While democracy eventually won the struggle against totalitarianism in much of the world, democracy itself is not immune to the pitfall of do-goodery: moral correctness at home and atomic or "humanitarian" bombs abroad.

Todorov explores the history of the past century not only by analyzing its spectacular political conflicts but also by offering profiles of several individuals who, at great personal cost, resisted the strictures of the communist and Nazi regimes. Some--Margarete Buber-Neumann, David Rousset, Primo Levi, and Germaine Tillion--were deported to concentration camps. Others--Vasily Grossman and Romain Gary--fought courageously in World War II. All became exemplary witnesses who described with great lucidity and humanity what they had endured.

This book preserves the memory of the past as we move into the twenty-first century--arguing that we must place the past at the service of a just future.

"This is a very rich book, full of interesting--and often highly controversial--conversation as well as moving portraits of striking figures of the century that has just passed. It is addressed to a general public very much engaged in discussing what the twentieth century was all about and where we are going from here." -- Charles Taylor

"Almost alone among contemporary critics, Tzvetan Todorov has chosen to apply his prodigious talents to the literature of twentieth-century totalitarianism. His unique gift is his ability to elucidate the memoirs and writings of some of the century's greatest survivors, not merely discovering their literary qualities but also finding in their works moral and political lessons relevant to us all." -- Anne Applebaum

Review

Todorov's exceptional new work is difficult to categorize: it combines an historical analysis of the development of totalitarianism and democracy with nuanced portraits of six figures who stood up against the evils of fascism and communism. Added to these elements, are a philosophical meditation on the uses and dangers of memory and a discussion of democracy's struggle to combat its enemies while staying true to its principles. Todorov, who lived under Communist rule in Bulgaria, analyzes the rise of fascism and communism in Europe and their brutal effects on society and the individual. Todorov explores how and why these totalitarian systems found support among Europeans and the reasons behind their inevitable turn toward brutality and reppression. Hope and Memory focuses on the events in Europe that pitted totalitarian and democratic systems against each other, and while it condemns the acts of Communists and Fascists, it also examines the potential and actual problems found in democracies. The sense of righteousness that occasionally infects democracies has led to the dropping of atomic bombs and problematic interventions in Kosovo and elsewhere. Todorov also addresses how memory of the twentieth century shapes our present understanding of the world and considers how the past has the potential to both prevent atrocities and fuel old hatreds. Throughout the work, Todorov underscores his analysis of political movements, history, and philosophical issues with portraits of individuals who lived under totalitarianism, including Vasily Grossman, Margarete Buber-Neumann, David Rousset, Primo Levi, Romain Gary, and Germaine Tillion.

Charles Taylor writes, "This is a very rich book, full of interesting and often highly controversial conversation as well as moving portraits of striking figures of the century that has just passed. It is addressed to a general public very much engaged in discussing what the twentieth century was all about and where we are going from here."