Making Public Memory

Abstract

This case study discusses how Basque public memory of the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) and the subsequent dictatorship (1939–75) is built in part by public history associations. The authors have analyzed seventy-five associations and have drawn two conclusions. First, despite criticisms directed at their methodology, the work of investigation and dissemination carried out by these associations has been essential for society to learn about these events from the past. Second, the appearance of public history associations coincides with the internet boom and a period known in Spain as the “resurgence of memory.”