The 9/11 commission report: History under the sign of memory

Abstract

The Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (2004) has served as an archive upon which films, TV docudramas, and literary pieces on the 9/11 attacks rely. The Commission’s work represents the degree of independence exercised by state-appointed investigative bodies. The article argues that the Report’s book-like format, conception as historical work, and collective authorship were intrinsic to public tasks the Commission undertook beyond its nominal purview, namely the effort to revive a bipartisan public spirit in the United States. The article examines the underlying ideas about historical representation and the purpose of history that this foundational document of the post-9/11 era propagates as it also exemplifies the increasing influence of the discourse of memory on contemporary historical thinking.