A study on the social representations and social memory of Brest, a French city destroyed during the Second World War

ABSTRACT: We studied the socio-spatial representations and collective memory of Brest, a city that was heavily destroyed during the Second World War, among a sample of young residents. The methodology used combined word associations, open questions in the form of a questionnaire, and cognitive maps. The results show that participants’ representations of Brest are situated in the present because the city is the context in which they experience important (personal and professional) life stages. The painful past of the war is remembered superficially, as if the urban monuments – the physical symbols of history – do not hold much significance for the city’s young people. We conclude by formulating several hypotheses on the social representations of this “old and forgotten” Brest by new generations, alongside a discussion on two major issues: the trauma of the war and the city’s military function as a naval base. Keywords: social representations; city of Brest; alceste; Second World War; social memory. RESUMO: As representacoes socio espaciais e a memoria coletiva de jovens acerca de Brest, uma cidade destruida na Segunda Guerra Mundial, foram estudadas. A metodologia usou tanto associacoes livres de palavras quanto perguntas abertas inseridas em questionario e mapas cognitivos. Os resultados mostram que as representacoes dos participantes acerca de Brest se situam no presente pois a cidade e o contexto onde vivenciam importantes etapas de suas vidas (pessoais e profissionais). O doloroso passado belico e lembrado superficialmente, como se os monumentos urbanos – simbolos fisicos da historia- nao significassem muito para os jovens desta cidade. Concluimos com a formulacao de algumas hipoteses sobre a representacao social de novas geracoes sobre esta “antiga e esquecida” Brest, tambem discutimos duas grandes questoes: o trauma da guerra e a funcao militar da cidade ao acolher a base naval. Palavras-chave: representacoes sociais; cidade de Brest; Alceste; Segunda Guerra Mundial; memoria social.