A Theoretical Analysis on the Collective Memory and the China Complex of Jewish Refugees

Abstract

As a cognitive and emotional process, collective memory draws on the knowledge and experience presented by all individuals, conveying a wide range of complex and subtle emotions. Collective memory is essentially a reconstruction of the past from the present perspective, featured with sustainability, changeability, wide dissemination and overall competitiveness. Since collective memory was further heightened as a prominent part of global culture in the last decades of the 20th century driven by the modern media and the mass political participation, many countries and ethnic groups have institutionalized commemorative activities on major historic events, and conducted self-reflections on historical problems. Considerable attention has also been paid on collective memory researches in a diverse array of fields by the international academia, particularly the collective traumatic memory due to its great potential to reshape socio-political structures and processes.