Does History Matter for Young People’s Political Identity? The Role of Past Authoritarianism in Germany and Spain

Periods of authoritarianism and oppression have long-lasting legacies. In this chapter, we analyse how events connected with German National Socialism and the post-war socialist regime in East Germany, on the one hand, and the Civil War and the Franco regime, on the other, continue to shape young people’s attitudes and perceptions of history in Germany and Spain, respectively. We consider the sources drawn on most frequently by young people when they seek information about historical events and the difficult pasts they did not experience themselves. We analyse a range of mediators of history—for example, the family—which contribute to young people’s perception of history, comparing their effect on political attitudes and their impact on the inter-generational transmission of a collective historical memory.