Personal and Collective Functions of Family Historical Memories

Memories are inherently functional, shaping identity, fostering social bonds, and guiding behaviour. We argue that family historical memories—situated at the intersection of individual experience and collective narrative—can serve both personal and collective functions. This study examines family memories of resistance and collaboration during World War II among 96 French‐speaking Belgians from 42 families across three generations. Through interviews, we assessed the importance of these memories and the functions participants attributed to knowing and transmitting them. Results revealed that war‐related family narratives primarily served identity and social functions at the personal level. Directive functions, providing guidance for future behaviour, occurred at both levels but were especially prominent collectively. Resistance narratives served significantly more collective functions than collaboration narratives, particularly collective directive functions. These findings demonstrate that family historical memories serve important functions at both individual and collective levels, with impact shaped by narrative content and collective significance.