9 Remembrance and Historicization: Transformation of Individual and Collective Memory Processes in the Federal Republic of Germany
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Werner Bohleber
Abstract
For a long time, a collective defense against acknowledging and taking responsibility for the horrific Nazi crimes was prevalent in German society. As a result, the memory culture was characterized by contentious memories, which repeatedly provoked new debates, but nevertheless made historical clarifications possible and gradually removed the ground from the tendencies towards denial and not wanting to know. Understanding them in depth requires the insights of psychoanalysis on how to deal with affect-laden memories, with feelings of fear, guilt, and shame, and with the defensive movements to protect a self-image experienced as threatened. The phases of the societal struggle to remember the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes are described together with its transgenerational consequences. In Germany the memory cannot be a purely victim-identified memory culture. The perpetrators and their deeds must be included in a so-called “negative memory” which cannot be outsourced from a positive collective identity or purified from it. A further question is discussed how the abysmal nature of the crimes and the immeasurable suffering of the victims can be transmitted to the memory formation of future generations.
Abstract
For a long time, a collective defense against acknowledging and taking responsibility for the horrific Nazi crimes was prevalent in German society. As a result, the memory culture was characterized by contentious memories, which repeatedly provoked new debates, but nevertheless made historical clarifications possible and gradually removed the ground from the tendencies towards denial and not wanting to know. Understanding them in depth requires the insights of psychoanalysis on how to deal with affect-laden memories, with feelings of fear, guilt, and shame, and with the defensive movements to protect a self-image experienced as threatened. The phases of the societal struggle to remember the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes are described together with its transgenerational consequences. In Germany the memory cannot be a purely victim-identified memory culture. The perpetrators and their deeds must be included in a so-called “negative memory” which cannot be outsourced from a positive collective identity or purified from it. A further question is discussed how the abysmal nature of the crimes and the immeasurable suffering of the victims can be transmitted to the memory formation of future generations.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Series Editors’ Preface: Interpretive Lenses in Sociology – On the Multidimensional Foundations of Meaning in Social Life vii
- Notes on Contributors xii
- Acknowledgments xvii
- Introduction: Interpreting Contentious Memories and Conflicts over the Past 1
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Interpreting Memories in the Social Dynamics of Contention
- On the Social Distribution of Soldiers’ Memories: Normalization, Trauma, and Morality 29
- Feminist Approaches to Studying Memory and Mass Atrocity 49
- Mobilizing Memories: Remembrance as a Social Movement Tool in the Vieques Anti-Military Movement (1999–2004) 69
- The Ballot of Donald and Hillary: Hateful Memories of Celebrity Leaders 89
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Racism, Exclusion, and Mnemonic Conflict
- Building a Case for Citizenship: Countermemory Work among Deported Veterans 113
- Commemorations as Transformative Events: Collective Memory, Temporality, and Social Change 134
- Contentious Pasts, Contentious Futures: Race, Memory, and Politics in Montgomery’s Legacy Museum 154
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Genocide, Memory, and the Historicizing of Trauma
- Remembrance and Historicization: Transformation of Individual and Collective Memory Processes in the Federal Republic of Germany 177
- Enlisting Lived Memory: From Traumatic Silence to Authentic Witnessing 197
- Changing Memories of the Shoah in Post-Communist Countries: New Memories and Conflicts 217
- How Difficult Pasts Complicate the Present: Comparative Analysis of the Genocides in Western Armenia and Rwanda 236
- Conclusion: Memory and the Social Dynamics of Conflict and Contention: Interpretive Lenses for New Cases and Controversies 258
- Index 266
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Series Editors’ Preface: Interpretive Lenses in Sociology – On the Multidimensional Foundations of Meaning in Social Life vii
- Notes on Contributors xii
- Acknowledgments xvii
- Introduction: Interpreting Contentious Memories and Conflicts over the Past 1
-
Interpreting Memories in the Social Dynamics of Contention
- On the Social Distribution of Soldiers’ Memories: Normalization, Trauma, and Morality 29
- Feminist Approaches to Studying Memory and Mass Atrocity 49
- Mobilizing Memories: Remembrance as a Social Movement Tool in the Vieques Anti-Military Movement (1999–2004) 69
- The Ballot of Donald and Hillary: Hateful Memories of Celebrity Leaders 89
-
Racism, Exclusion, and Mnemonic Conflict
- Building a Case for Citizenship: Countermemory Work among Deported Veterans 113
- Commemorations as Transformative Events: Collective Memory, Temporality, and Social Change 134
- Contentious Pasts, Contentious Futures: Race, Memory, and Politics in Montgomery’s Legacy Museum 154
-
Genocide, Memory, and the Historicizing of Trauma
- Remembrance and Historicization: Transformation of Individual and Collective Memory Processes in the Federal Republic of Germany 177
- Enlisting Lived Memory: From Traumatic Silence to Authentic Witnessing 197
- Changing Memories of the Shoah in Post-Communist Countries: New Memories and Conflicts 217
- How Difficult Pasts Complicate the Present: Comparative Analysis of the Genocides in Western Armenia and Rwanda 236
- Conclusion: Memory and the Social Dynamics of Conflict and Contention: Interpretive Lenses for New Cases and Controversies 258
- Index 266
