Not only individuals but also cultures create a memory to establish identities, gain legitimacy, and set goals. Aleida Assmann explores the various functions of cultural memory, its media (such as writing, images, or monuments), and the ways of dealing with stored knowledge, where art is gaining increasing significance alongside politics and science. "In her rich exploration of cultural history, Aleida Assmann traces the importance of memory in identity formation projects. (...) The most emotionally striking, but also politically sensitive aspect of this journey emerges in those sections where the proximity of memory to situations of shock or catastrophe is illuminated." Elisabeth Bronfen, Süddeutsche Zeitung.