“Memory is not a duty but a civil right that must be protected,” declared historian Richard Vinyes on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War. The fundamental right to be able to access an objective historical narrative about one's own nation is a concept that challenges post-Franco Spain. Some Spaniards view the Franco period as a time of economic prosperity and nationalist pride, while others (especially Catalans) view the Franco era as a time of suppression of autonomy and culture. Unlike other historical atrocities like the Holocaust, which essentially created a truthful historical narrative allowing for a subsequent process of grieving (through historical memory), Spain was unable to achieve this. This inadequate approach to historical memory has resulted in social and political problems that prevent the nation from moving forward in creating a more cohesive and progressive society. Most notably, the historical memory surrounding the Spanish Civil War has given the region of Catalonia a feeling of “un”Spanish, due to the emotional wounds still present while the grieving process is not yet complete. This contributed to the promotion of Catalan independence, despite the irrational economic results. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get an original essay Spain's approach to remembering its history can be summed up by Catalonia's National Day (La Diada). Although the national holiday has no particular significance in the Spanish Civil War, it encapsulates the dysfunctional relationship between history and celebration, thus explaining the divide between Spain and Catalonia. The national holiday “testifies to the functioning of a country” and the national images associated with this day “affect attitudes and behavior”. The national holiday is therefore crucial in shaping this “image creation” that people have towards their nation. Foreign correspondent Raphael Minder describes the Catalan National Day as a day of “celebrating a defeat”. This marks the day Barcelona fell to the Bourbon King Philip V in 1714. In revenge, King Philip suppressed the Catalan people, suppressing their parliament and language. The repression of the Catalan people by Philip V constituted a reference in terms of prejudice against Catalonia. This prejudice peaked for many years, explaining the birth of various "radical" left-wing ideologies throughout Catalonia as well as the cause of the Spanish Civil War. To a certain extent, this prejudice towards Catalonia still exists today. Catalan citizen Antonio Vancells says that “everything we are fighting for today revolves around the time of 1714.” A national day for any country has special significance. It is a day of pride and patriotism for the country, but for Catalans this pride cannot be fully expressed due to the origins and fundamental meaning of this day. This then influences the national image that Catalans have of Spain. The meaning of this day has been recovered by the Catalan people and transformed into a day “half-carnival, half-rally, half-protest”. Hundreds of thousands of people are coming together to contribute to this protest. The theme of Diada 2017 was the referendum and independence. The National Day of Catalonia ultimately encapsulates the imperfect process of Spain's historical memory, but reclaiming this day allows us to overturn this imperfect system into a movement pushing for change.The divisions between Spain and Catalonia are no better represented than at La Diada, where the Catalan people march unanimously for independence. Basically, public history can be defined as “any history applied to the real world.” Its purpose, as Woodrow Wilson believed, is to “engage, inform, and improve public life.” By engaging the public in their history, it creates a more conscious society, in which the past can be used to help address the challenges of the present. Hayden White also proposes that history should present a more practical purpose, aiming to be didactic, rather than simply constructing a meaningless narrative. Thus, public history (whether statues, museums, etc.) represents an organization's or government's view of the past and the morals that should apply today . In Spain, there is an ambiguous historical narrative around the Spanish Civil War, represented publicly. Statues and museums (especially in Barcelona) are mostly privately funded, and those funded by either the city council or the federal government, represent a convoluted narrative of Spanish history, manifesting and reinforcing the theme of “memory of wounds” preventing social cohesion throughout contemporary Spain. of public history to commemorate the Spanish Civil War can be seen prominently throughout the Valley of the Fallen. The legacy of conflict surrounding this site fosters nostalgia for the Franco era and nationalist forces, creating extreme and polarized social divisions within contemporary Spain. Called "Spain's most controversial tourist site" by the Independent UK, the Valley of the Fallen is a mausoleum built under Franco (with republican prisoners) to commemorate those who fought in the Spanish Civil War. Around 34,000 war victims are buried in the mausoleum, with only two graves visible to the general public; Antonio Primo De Rivera, founder of the Spanish Falange de las JONS, a far-right party sympathetic to fascism. In front of him is the tomb of Francisco Franco. For the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), the site represents a place of glorification of Catholic, traditionalist and far-right culture in Spain, promoting nostalgia for the oppressive far-right leaders of the 20th century and thus contradicts its objective of achieving to true reconciliation. The site represents the social dynamics of today's Spain, where "there are still many Spaniards who would pay a lot of money to spit on Franco's grave, and there are others who would share willingly pay the 9 euros entry fee to come and leave flowers.” the stone that bears his name. The lack of perseverance of modern political parties (until very recently) to change the nature of the site reflects the fact that historical memory at the political level favors right-wing nostalgia corrupting Spain for a progressive historical narrative. The Valley of the Fallen is an antiquated site that has created a polarized divide between left and right, with little room to accommodate socially cohesive common ground. A fundamental issue affecting contemporary Spain that arises from historical memory is the Catalan push for independence. Throughout modern history, Catalonia has been culturally suppressed by Spain on the basis of creating a unified nation, free from differing regionalist cultures. The suppression by King Philip V in 1714 set a precedent for suppression by future rulers. The Spanish Civil War marks the high point of brutality and divisions in Spain, but the failure to properly commemorate these events inproposing a process of true reconciliation in the public history of Catalonia resulted in a deeply emotional attachment to the past. Catalans, especially those who are descendants or direct victims of the war, have not yet benefited from a process of reconciliation and the public history of the territories surrounding them reflects this. Catalonia's failure to achieve legitimate historical memory through public history can be attributed to two reasons. . The first is a general reluctance on the part of those in power to commemorate the past. It is much easier for those in power to avoid the past, because the emotional attachment that Catalans still feel could endanger the political position of parliamentarians if this emotion is altered. Instead, any attempts to use public history to promote historical memory are surprisingly absent at the governmental level; most efforts are carried out through private organizations; some of which were organizations linked to fighting in the Spanish Civil War for the Republicans. Second, there is still a fuzzy historical narrative today that once again leaves the nation divided. Exactly what and how to commemorate the war? The following will examine case studies summarizing the historical memory of Catalonia through public history. An example of public history influencing contemporary Spain is Montjuic Castle, the castle has seen the commemoration of far-right history justifying the emotional wounds seen in contemporary Spain, particularly in Catalonia. Used as a political prison and execution site of Catalan President Lluis Companys during the Civil War, the castle occupies an important place in the public history of Catalonia. The castle literally overlooks the city and has been the subject of controversy during the commemoration of the Civil War. A plaque inside the castle recognizes the "heroes and martyrs of the glorious nationalist movement", as well as a statue of Franco, only removed in 2008. Historical memory currently highlights conservative and nationalist ideologies that did not provide no process of reconciliation and mourning for victims of war, contributing to emotional attachment to the past. Additionally, Barcelona's commemoration of their own unique history in the civil war created an ambiguous narrative. The lack of direct attempts to achieve genuine inquiries into truth and reconciliation has helped create an emotional wound preventing social progress. Throughout the civil war, enemy air raids caused more than 2,000 deaths in Barcelona. 42 of these deaths took place in the Plaça. De Sant Felip Nari, a church located in the Gothic Quarter. Here, side by side, are 2 plates. The first plaque installed by Barcelona City Hall commemorates the victims of the attack, attributing it to the “Francoist Forces”. The second plate is barely readable and hidden from view, but surprisingly adds greater specificity to the nature of the bombing. This time attributing the bombing to “Italian Forces”. The reason for this change was due to the fact that by mentioning Italian forces it was initially deemed too provocative towards Italian tourists visiting the site. The importance of this illustrates Spain's overall position in the memory of its history. An unclear historical narrative leads to an inadequate grieving process. The truth is not clear and reconciliation is therefore increasingly difficult. Without the truth, contemporary Spain simply cannot progress. The lack of representation of historical memory in museums has been detrimental todefense and memory of the past. According to the European National Museums Organization (Eunamus), the objective of museums is to "focus on understanding the conditions of use of the past in negotiations recreating citizenship and on understanding the layers that create territorial belonging ". Research conducted by the organization has also highlighted the theoretical relationship between museums, particularly nationally funded museums, in creating/shaping a national identity. Museums according to Lois Silverman assist in the process of learning “affiliation and belonging” to a particular identity. Similarly, UNESCO states that museums "play an essential role in promoting social cohesion and a sense of collective memory" as well as a means for society to learn the "fundamental principles of dignity, tolerance and respect for history. Spain's use of museums has paradoxically distorted the national historical narrative. There are no nationally funded museums in Spain that directly attempt to commemorate the Spanish Civil War. And, more broadly still, there is no national museum in Spain dedicated to the national history of Spain. Most museums, particularly those aiming to commemorate the civil war, are financed by private funds and are located in Catalonia. There are no civil war museums in Madrid. The lack of national museums has led to inconsistencies in the Spanish historical narrative, thus distorting the history of Spain, making it increasingly regionalist and subjective. Spain's regions have their own historical narratives, which ultimately harms social cohesion. A typical example of this can be seen through the Museum of History of Catalunya, a museum funded by the Catalan autonomous government which aims to create a national identity for the region of Catalonia. Throughout the museum there is an underlying theme that aims to create a separation between Spain and Catalonia. This idea not only established a separation between Catalonia and the rest of Spain, but also created tension between the Catalan and Spanish peoples that justified unprecedented social change movements like the Catalan Independence Debate. By implementing national museums on a more intense scale, direct attempts to create a historical narrative agreed upon by all parties and regions could help the country move forward on a wide range of social issues and tensions. Spain's legal obligations to historical memory have significantly challenged contemporary Spain, seeing it manifest in diplomatic, political and social tensions. The UN has described Spain's contributions to the commitment to historical memory at the legal and political level as “timid”. In 1977, a unanimous but unwritten motion, the “Pact of Forgetting,” was adopted. An amnesty law was also implemented ensuring that "there will be no accountability for the thousands of people who perished during the civil war." For Spain to move on from the past, paradoxically, the nation had to “la desmemoria” (meaning not to remember). Although it seemed rational at the time, the grieving process was not realized. The wounds were covered but not healed. Issues related to the memory of the past have only been postponed and will always continue to persist unless they are properly brought to light and addressed. It has now been 80 years since the Civil War and the Spanish people have still not received legal justice and are still demanding answers. The Socialist Workers' Party implemented the Historical Memory Law in 2007, which.