Intergenerational transmission of World War II family historical memories of the Resistance

Abstract

Collective memory of historical events can be transmitted across generations not only through cultural memory but also through communicative memory; that is, transmitted by people who have lived through these particular times. Yet, few studies have examined the temporal horizon of a particular type of communicative memory: family historical memories. In this article, we examine the intergenerational transmission of memories from the Second World War in families with an ancestor who resisted during the German Occupation. We interviewed 20 French-speaking Belgian families over three generations. During these individual interviews, participants narrated an anecdote about their ancestor and the Resistance. Then, for the middle and youngest generations, we provided a short cue related to the story chosen by the oldest generation and enquired whether they could tell us the story in their own words. Memory transmission was analysed through two processes: retelling and recalling. Our main result revealed that there was a loss of details across generations, but not complete oblivion. We also found some instances of family myth transmitted across all generations. This study provides evidence that family historical memories fade away after a generation or two, even when these memories describe historical events deemed important for family and society.

Collective memory: An hourglass between the collective and the individual

“…Finally, a few recent psychological studies have examined the intergenerational transmission of historical memories (Cordonnier et al 2021; Stone et al 2014). They found that overall, the transmission of family historical memories of Second World War-related events was very limited and that, by the third generation, most family memories were lost or stripped back to the general gist without many specific details.…”

“…Rather than limiting itself to the study of one generation of actors, future research should attempt to identify tensions, gaps, and even contradictions from one generation to the next, as well as investigate the active role that different generations take in the sharing of memories and knowledge. Although there have already been studies that have examined intergenerational transmission within families or in schools (Billaud et al 2015; Buono 2004; Cordonnier et al 2021; Fivush et al 2008; Leonhard 2002; Stone et al 2014), very few, so far, have tackled the articulation of memory at macro , meso , and micro levels over three generations (one of the rare examples being Welzer 2005).…”

Psychological insights into information processing during times of crisis.

“…Finally, the way we as a society will remember this pandemic—and its lessons—will circumscribe how efficiently we will navigate the next one to come. Empirical investigations revealed that consequential events such as floods (Fanta et al, 2019) and World War II memories (Cordonnier et al, 2021) constitute prominent landmarks for the generation that experiences them, but fade dramatically for subsequent generations. Understanding how the collective memories of the COVID-19 pandemic form and decay over time could provide insights into how we as a society could preserve such memories for the benefit of our collective future.…”

Memory for Salient Shared Events: A Top-down Approach to Collective Memory

“…Personal details about the war were lost after one generation. (SeeCordonnier, Bouchat, Hirst & Luminet, 2020 for a related result).…”