Beyond Berlin What Has Happened to the German Culture of Remembrance? PART TWO
What Has Happened to the German Culture of Remembrance?
A Historical Review: Debates, Discourse, Pivotal Moments
In this episode: The Roots, 1945–1989
In this episode of Beyond Berlin, we explore the History of the Culture of Remembrance in Germany from 1945 to 1989. We begin by examining the controversy surrounding the bombing of Dresden, which was a military target during World War II.
We then address the initial silence of the German people after the Holocaust's horrors were revealed, the Allies' efforts to re-educate Germans, and how some German Protestant Churches in 1945 spoke up to acknowledge the atrocities committed by the German government.
Next, we discuss how, after Germany's division, the Eastern government blamed the Holocaust on the West—portraying the West as the capitalistic continuation of the fascist regime while positioning the East as an anti-fascist state populated by victims and resistance fighters. Meanwhile, the Western government attempted to make amends with Jewish people worldwide, partly to regain its place on the world stage, though not without resistance from its citizens.
We also examine how the GDR conducted high-profile trials to hold the West accountable for employing former Nazi party members in their government.
The final section covers both German governments' efforts to educate their citizens and the world about the Holocaust through trials and media. In 1979, the American miniseries "Holocaust" brought the issue to the forefront, sparking a genuine reckoning with the past in Germany and leading to greater introspection and refugee support.Despite this progress, debates persisted in Germany about whether the Holocaust was a unique event in human history and how to reconcile the past with the present. The 1980s laid the foundation for "Erinnerungskultur" (remembrance culture): after 1979, silence gave way to expression through books, family memoirs (spawning a genre of descendants coming to terms with their families' Nazi past), and conferences. Nevertheless, certain debates revealed Germany's struggle to come to terms with its Nazi history, acknowledge the Holocaust as a unique crime, and accept its permanent connection to Germany.
Key moments:
Today: Dresden: Memory, Hijacked.
1945-1949: The Great Silence.
Reeducation through the media: memory, imposed.
Breaking the Silence: The 1945 "Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt".
The Great Reframing in Occupied East Germany.
1950–1967: Coming to Terms with the Past or Drawing a Line Under It?
West Germany Starts Investigating Nazi Crimes.
East Germany Celebrates its Anti-fascist Struggle.
East Germany and its Relationship with Jewish Victims.
The "Better State" against the "Still-Nazi" West Germany.
Germans Facing The Big Trials.
1968-1970: We Need to Talk!
Looking Eastward: Ostpolitik and Memory-Building.
1970-1978: Filming Between Memory and Propaganda.
1979: "Holocaust" and a Nation's Catharsis.
1980–1989: Foreign Policy Challenges, Social Tensions, and Historical Debates.
1980: The United States Holocaust Memorial project.
1985: The Limits of Inclusive Memory.
May 8, 1985. Federal President Weizsäcker's speech.
1986/87 The Historians´ Dispute: “The Past That Will Not Pass”.
1987 Topographie des Terrors: The Material Response to the Historians' Debate.
1988: Shadows of the East.
Audio segments from public speeches:
Dr. Navid Kermani - Speech at the ceremony "65 Years of Basic Law" 2014
Speech by Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker on May 8, 1985
Music credits:
Serge Pavkin Music - Keep Walking
Serge Pavkin Music - Time to say Goodbye
Footnotes, bibliography and more on the topic:
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Here you will find the original post, the second of a three-part series dedicated to exploring the genesis, struggles, and contradictions that make German Remembrance Culture still unresolved.
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