It doesn't seem unlikely that there could be cultural phenomenon rooted in events a hundred years ago. It wouldn't be easy to prove though, and most people affected wouldn't be aware, so asking people on the street would be worthless.
> It doesn't seem unlikely that there could be cultural phenomen[a] rooted in events a hundred years ago.
Absolutely!
1. It's quite possible that Germans still have an aversion to inflation due to the 1920's episode of hyperinflation in the Weimarer Republik. My grandmother often spoke of it, she had vivid memories of it, as she was selling groceries in the local "Konsum", had to put up new price tags every hour, and saw the suffering of everyone (including her own family). She liked to recount how her "Volksschule" teacher (in a poor neighbourhood) taught them hundreds and thousands, and then briefly mentioned millions and billions, but glossed over them saying "You'll never have to use them anyway."
(Thus, there are people alive, if I may make that claim for myself, that have heard (visceral) first-hand reports of it.)
2. There is this beautiful paper demonstrating that people have more trust in government and bureaucracy in areas that were part of the (long defunct) Habsburger Empire, even if they (and their counterparts on the other side of the old border) have now lived a century in the same modern country.
"The Empire Is Dead, Long Live the Empire! Long-Run Persistence of Trust and Corruption in the Bureaucracy"
> > It's just not true and likely being written by someone who has never asked a single german/chinese.
Many Germans or Chinese have some sort of consciousness of their history; maybe you haven't asked them.
4. And, by the way, you're also formed by your history (via the culture surrounding you) if you don't consciously notice it. Your statement above is as naive as that of people that claim not to be influenced by advertisement, say, or their biological roots, just because they don't notice it.
Thanks for that link. I find the Habsburg era fascinating. I remember my Croatian ancestors often lamenting the passing of the Empire, and Franz Josef's rule. They sure did leave us with a lot of good infrastructure: roads, buildings, railroad, etc. still in use today.
And, for example, since you mention Croatia, in the middle of beautiful Split on the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic sea, there's the palace of Roman emperor Diocletian, then Fort Gripe built during the Venetian era to defend against Ottoman attacks, the National Theatre built during the Habsburg era, etc.
Beautiful Dubrovnic three hours down the coast has Byzantine origins (literally), suffered artillery attacks as recently as 1991, and now is a location for the filming of Game of Thrones (King's Land or so).
Of course people have some awareness of the history, they're living in it!
