Book excerpt: Those who define the past control the present. ‘Revising History in Communist Europe’ shows how the manipulation of history both empowered and weakened the communist regimes of post–World War Two Europe. It demonstrates how seismic events of the recent past reverberate in the understandings of the present, determining perceptions and decisions. With fresh analysis on the imposed communist definition of Hungary’s 1956 uprising and its effects on the definition of the Prague Spring, this study will give readers a timely and penetrating insight into both landmark events.