Collective memory and political generations: A survey of German journalists

Abstract In 1989, just before German reunification, 498 German journalists were asked to indicate which, from a list of 34 major historical events, such as the end of World War II, the 1949 German currency reform, the building of the Berlin wall, the student movement, and the Chernobyl disaster, they vividly remembered, which still oriented their political thinking, and their political reaction to these events. While some events stand out for all ages, younger journalists, having no memory of World War II and its aftermath, focused more exclusively on such recent events as Chernobyl and the discovery of the AIDS virus. The dominant thrust from recent historical experiences on all age groups…