The present is shaped by knowledge that has been handed down from previous times and by a creative use of tradition. Vice versa, tradition is shaped by the present, by modern protagonists and their diverse interests. This may be well viewed in African history. Since colonial times various versions of the past have vied for recognition: Social, political, cultural and religious groups created their own strains of memory in which they transferred knowledge from the past to the present, thereby reformulating and refitting it. This edited volume traces these memories of the 20th century in Africa and elucidates various practices of recollection. It shows how continuities were preserved throughout colonial times and national states; how social protagonists competed with each other in the process of remembering and the development of the future; how knowledge was generated in the diverse contexts; and how the future was conceived within the remembering process. German text.