Repubblica, Rivoluzione e Guerra nelle memorie dei figli dei rifugiati spagnoli in Francia

Spanish exile in France in 1939 was a phenomenon that deeply changed the social balances of the south west of France. In recent years, memories transmitted within families became the object of activities organized by several associations and of a strong investment by local political institutions. In 2009, year of the seventieth anniversary of the exile, there has been a great memorial mobilization. Refugees’ children, who work on memory, claim that this past is an essential identity-related resource and a legacy to be valued. In negotiating with the local political institutions the meanings of the historical experience, the descendants’ associations develop specific representations of the concept of Republic, war and revolution, charging some events with strong symbolic meanings