For the last two decades there has been a number of empirical research and theoretical perspectives with the main objective of capturing the psycho-social aspects of the human memory. This study describes and compares records of past events of two different generational groups in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, concerning Getulio Vargas’s dictatorship period known as Estado Novo (1937-1945). The sample gathered 400 individuals, 200 elders and 200 adults. A questionnaire was used to approach different aspects about that historical period. The results show that the memory of that time is stronger and more detailed for the elders than for the adults, as well as for the subjects who had a higher level of education and defined political orientation.
Social memory; Generation memory; Estado Novo; Dictatorship
