The long shadows of the difficult past? How young people in Denmark, Finland and Germany remember WWII

This paper focuses on the question of how young people today evaluate the Second World War today and how this 'difficult past' determines their political attitudes. Furthermore, the channels through which the current young generation in Europe is informed about the events dating back to th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of youth studies 2017-02, Vol.20 (2), p.162-179
Main Authors: Wolnik, Kevin, Busse, Britta, Tholen, Jochen, Yndigegn, Carsten, Levinsen, Klaus, Saari, Kari, Puuronen, Vesa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
20th century
Citizen participation
collective identity
Collective memory
Grandparents
Historical development
inter-generational discourse
Mass media
Parents & parenting
Political attitudes
Politics
Schools
Transmission of history
Transnationalism
World War II
young people
Youth
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Summary:This paper focuses on the question of how young people today evaluate the Second World War today and how this 'difficult past' determines their political attitudes. Furthermore, the channels through which the current young generation in Europe is informed about the events dating back to the first half of the twentieth century (e.g. parents and grandparents, schools, the media) are examined. The theoretical basis chosen for addressing these questions is the work of Mannheim (1928) on the formation of successive generations, and the theories of collective memories and identities of Eisenstadt and his followers. Our empirical evidence comes from a transnational comparison of young people's memories of this difficult past in Denmark, Finland and Germany. From a historical perspective a comparison of the three countries is particularly interesting as they played different roles during the Second World War. The evidence highlights the different perceptions of history among youth and points to the absence of a common European understanding of what happened between 1939 and 1945. The empirical evidence comes from a research project (2011-2015) funded by the European Commission and covering 14 European countries. Its main focus has been on present-day young people's perceptions of history and politics (MYPLACE = Memory, Youth, Political Legacy and Civic Engagement).
ISSN:1367-6261
1469-9680
DOI:10.1080/13676261.2016.1206866