From Survivor to Fourth-Generation Memory: Literal and Discursive Sites of Memory in Post-dictatorship Germany and Spain

Abstract

The transition of the memory of twentieth-century conflicts from survivor to cultural memory has become inevitable with the passing of the survivor generation. This article examines the role of different generations in the retrieval and commemoration of the traumatic past in Germany and Spain by focusing on two main areas: firstly, it analyzes the debates surrounding the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin and the ongoing review of form and function of existing memorial sites in the city, as well as ongoing vandalism and trivialization of these sites. Secondly, it examines recent debates and protests in Spain surrounding the 1977 Amnesty Law by prominent artists and the wider public. These range from protests against the indictment of Judge Baltasar Garzón in 2010 for opening an investigation into crimes against humanity committed by the Franco regime to demonstrations in November 2015 demanding an annulment of the 1977 Law, and to the recent Argentinean court case of Franco-era human rights crimes. Considering Pierre Nora’s notion that lieux de mémoire can be ‘material or non-material’, this article suggests that debates and demonstrations can act as a virtual space in which memory is viable. It analyzes the role of the ‘generations of postmemory’, in particular the third and fourth generations, in forestalling silence and forgetting and changing existing rigid discursive patterns.

Participating in professional development programmes or learning in the wild? Understanding the learning ecologies of Holocaust educators

“…On the one hand, personal motivations often stem from significant childhood or adolescent experiences, such as interactions with Holocaust survivors, exposure to narratives of anti‐Jewish persecution or deportation, or direct family connections to Holocaust victims (Hepworth, 2019). These experiences have a profound impact, fostering a strong sense of empathy, compassion and commitment to preserving the memory and lessons of the Holocaust for future generations (Bos, 2014).…”

Some psychoanalytic reflections on the Irish real estate bubble

“…Depositing these shared tasks in the psyche of succeeding generations is reinforced iteratively through ritual storytelling, folklore, the creation of myths (e.g., Rice and Benson, 2005), and educational curricula (e.g., Fargas-Malet & Dillenburger, 2016). Intergenerational transmission of trauma is further facilitated through sites of commemoration (e.g., Hepworth, 2019), novels, poetry, plays and the visual arts (e.g., Hofmann, 2020).…”

La Juventud Y El Pasado Reciente De Chile: La (Des)politización Como Política De Memoria Cotidiana

“…Los estudios que vinculan las políticas de memoria y la juventud se han articulado en gran parte desde una perspectiva generacional, relevando los significados y sentidos que los pasados de violencia política tienen para las generaciones más jóvenes; los procesos de transmisión intergeneracional que están a la base; y el carácter político del ejercicio del recuerdo en el presente (Achugar, Fernández, & Morales, 2013;Aguilar & Ramírez-Barat, 2016;Hepsworth, 2017;Kasamara & Sorokina, 2015;Kurze, 2016;Lee & Chan, 2012;Palmberger, 2016; 4 ISSN 1807-0310 Wolnik, et al, 2016). Si bien muchas de estas investigaciones concuerdan que las/os jóvenes comparten visiones comunes del pasado, condenan la violencia pasada y se encuentran más abiertos al debate de ésta en la agenda política, la búsqueda de justicia y la reparación a las víctimas, al mismo tiempo instalan un campo de discusión respecto a la profundidad con la que se apropian del pasado y los alcances políticos que se derivan de ello.…”

“…Respecto de los efectos y alcances políticos de las memorias producidas por jóvenes, Arnaud Kurze (2016) y Andrea Hepsworth (2017) advierten acerca del uso del espacio público y político que las generaciones más jóvenes han movilizado para el caso de la antigua Yugoslavia, España y Alemania. En una línea similar, Paloma Aguilar y Clara Ramírez-Barat (2016) destacan la importancia del cambio generacional en España para el aumento de las iniciativas de recuperación de las memorias de la represión franquista, donde nietas/os y bisnietas/os han tenido un rol clave.…”