War, Politics and Memory: Russian Historians Reevaluate the Origins of World War II
The myth of the Great Patriotic War, including the role of the USSR in the origins of World War II, continues to be a key element in the national identity of the Russian people. Previously, Soviet authorities mandated a narrative depicting the Soviet Union sincerely and unambiguously working for peace and against Nazi expansionism in the prewar years. This interpretation criticized the Western Powers for their alleged complicity in Hitler's aggression. After the collapse of the USSR, several competing views have appeared. The Putin and Medvedev administrations, as well as the popular "national-patriotic" school, maintain much of the former Soviet interpretation. Other Russian historians, many of them politically liberal, indict Stalin for mishandling the prewar crisis or even for promoting the onset of war for imperialistic or revolutionary purposes.
Memory and Politics in
The Civil War in El Salvador impacted more than the economic and political structure of the tiny Central American nation. Every Salvadoran citizen who endured the conflict was affected personally by the conflict. This effect is demonstrated through memory, and is manifested in the political spectrum. Memories of the war diverge along political lines, and narratives of past events are continually reinforced by the country’s two major political parties, who each played the dominating roles as opposing forces in the conflict. This study examines the manner in which memory of the Salvadoran Civil War has been reconstructed by politics, using informal communications with Salvadoran citizens in the rural community of La Cuchilla present during the war to demonstrate the political effects of memory in El Salvador.
17 &mgr;m pixel 640 x 480 microbolometer FPA development at BAE Systems
BAE Systems has developed an advanced 640 x 480 focal plane array (FPA) with a 17 &mgr;m pixel pitch. Sensitivity of ≤ 50 mK was demonstrated and the FPAs were used in imaging demonstrations. Successful scaling of BAE Systems' patented single contact per pixel, single-level microbolometer process to 17 &mgr;m pitch provides a path toward next generation microbolometer imaging systems.