Oral and Written History

Abstract

It is well-known that misconceptions can influence many, especially if it does not require too much energy to understand. Hoaxes, misleading interpretations are attractive especially for the less educated. The fact that forgeries and conspiracy-theories spread much faster by the help of the mainly unfiltered social media than ever before, which is especially visible in the time of Covid-19. This article, by the help of three examples, presents how much tendentious interpretation in oral history can influence the formation of misconceptions,and vice versa, how a misconception can influence the common knowledge of a society and in the end its cultural memory.