Memoirs of the citizens of Pilsen in the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century

The aim of the dissertation is to present a set of memoirs preserved in Pilsen from the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century. Furthermore, it intends to incorporate these writings into a broader context within the research of personal sources. Therefore, the first chapter deals with the history of these sources as subjects of research interest and the possibilities of their use. In terms of methodology, the thesis wants to carry out a comprehensive analysis of a representative sample of these sources. At the same time, it assesses the internal and external features of the texts, but also addresses the life stories of individual authors and tries to reveal their possible motivations for the creation of these writings. Additionally, the dissertation seeks to compare the selected memoirs, especially in terms of their nature and content. It focuses on different methods of self-presentation of writers through these works and on the consolidation of their identities through recorded narratives. But it also deals with the ways of depicting the city of Pilsen and the changes in everyday life in its streets as well as with the reflection of major political events in the compared writings. Overall, the submitted thesis tries to contribute to a deeper understanding of the problematic and diverse era of modern history and to reveal the thought-world and behaviour of people at that time