Roles of schools and other social institutions to preserve the historical memory of the Great Patriotic War

The article analyzes the influence of school and other social institutions on the formation of historical memory of the Great Patriotic War. The article is based on a study by the Russian Society of Sociologists conducted in 2020 on the eve of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. The survey showed that the majority of schoolchildren remain interested in the events of the great past. The most important sources of knowledge about the events of those years are teachers, stories from relatives, meetings with veterans, school textbooks, feature films and fiction. Thus, the social institutions of family, education, information, not only inform, educe, but also educate the individual, helping to shape the worldview, attitudes and beliefs of today's adolescents. The students showed similar attitudes towards the topic under study. One of the main conclusions of the study: the example of the attitude towards the people's historical memory of the older generation, represented by veterans, teachers and relatives, is an essential element in the education of youth, a key to their understanding of the meaning and significance of the Great Victory.