bombings of Japan as a critical event in World War II. A recent study showed that both younger and older Americans listed the U.S. The collective memories of a people can change over generations. Russians do not even call it World War II for them it is the Great Patriotic War. When Russians are asked to list the critical events of World War II, they mostly list a different set of events, such the Battle of Stalingrad, where nearly 2 million soldiers were killed or captured as the Soviets repulsed the Germans, and the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history and another decisive Soviet victory. When asked to remember World War II, Americans report numerous events, but the majority of people report the attack on Pearl Harbor, D-Day and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Of course, countries do not have memories it is the people in the country who retain the memories, but often there are common themes. To understand a country’s memories is to grasp something essential about their national identity and outlook. These collective memories can be about facts or about interpretations, as in the remembrance of the embassy bombing. Each of us has some sort of collective memory for any important social group to which we belong. Families may remember their history or a particular salient event (e.g., a vacation in an exotic locale). Collective memories may occur at more local levels, too. The Chinese remember the century of humiliation, while Americans remember 9/11 and subsequent events, and the people of many nations remember the era of World War II. They looked at him with pity, saying “You can’t possibly believe that.” They saw him as another American duped by government propaganda.Ĭollective memory refers to how groups remember their past. A friend who was recently visiting China told his hosts that their remembrance of the embassy bombing was wrong, that the bombing was an accident. For the Chinese, the bombing was a sharp reminder of the century of humiliation and fit the narrative of domination by the west, carried forward. claimed the bombing was an accident, guided by the C.I.A.’s faulty intelligence, and President Clinton apologized. Chinese leaders were infuriated, calling it a “barbaric act” and a “violation of the Geneva convention.” Chinese people held huge rallies and demonstrations against the U.S. smart bombs hit the embassy of the People’s Republic of China, killing three reporters. For example, in 1999 during the NATO bombing of Belgrade as a part of the war in (former) Yugoslavia, U.S. Although the century was declared over in 1949 when the People’s Republic of China was established, the Chinese remember the sting of those times and still interpret modern events through them. In China, people remember the period from roughly 1849 to 1949 as the “century of humiliation.” The time was turbulent, from the First Opium War (a defeat by the British) through many other defeats and unfavorable treaties in which Chinese people were dominated by the Japanese, French and English.
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