https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783318817907 Journal of Sociology 1–15 © The Author(s) 2018 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1440783318817907 journals.sagepub.com/home/jos The ‘lost generation’ of the 2008 crisis: Generational memory and conflict in Spain Max Holleran University of Melbourne, Australia Abstract Since the 2008 crisis, youth unemployment in Southern Europe has hindered a return to social and economic stability: in Spain, the young and unemployed are sometimes referred to as a ‘lost generation’. This article investigates how rampant youth unemployment in Spain has darkened expectations for the country’s future inside the European Union (EU) as well as altered views of the past. Using interviews with jobless young people, the article argues that the severity and duration of the 2008 crisis has prompted historical revisionism. Age cohorts often organise around pivotal events and the article shows how young people have questioned the success of democratisation (1980s) and European integration (1990s), causing a growing rift with their parents’ generation. Finally, it explores generational conflict in Spain through three interconnected experiences of unemployment: returning to live with parents, urban to rural migration for a lower cost of living, and emigration to Northern Europe for employment. Keywords 2008 crisis, historical memory, Spain, unemployment, youth In the seaside Spanish city of Alicante there is the perpetual feeling of vacation: the weather is warm nearly year-round, the city’s core is ringed with rental villas and retire- ment homes painted in tropical colours, and one is just as likely to hear German or Dutch on the street as Spanish. However, some of the residents’ spirits are not geared towards revelry, particularly the young. Marta is one of these young people. At 28, she has a graduate degree in tourism management, she speaks English and passable German, and she has been unemployed for over a year. During the 2008 crisis, she was horrified by the Corresponding author: Max Holleran, Lecturer in Sociology, University of Melbourne School of Social and Political Sciences, 420 John Medley Building, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia. Email: max.holleran@unimelb.edu.au Twitter: @MaxHolleran 817907JOS 0 0 10.1177/1440783318817907Journal of SociologyHolleran research-article 2018 Article