Mastering the Unmasterable? Vergangenheitsbewältigung of Germany’s National Socialist past

Abstract

CESAA 18TH ANNUAL EUROPE ESSAY COMPETITION 2010 - Undergraduate winner: Isabel Grelak, University of New South Wales

“The question about what nations should do about a difficult past is one of the great subjects of our time.” This essay engages with the process of Vergangenheitsbewältigung and asks the thorny question: how close is Germany to mastering a Nazi past notoriously described as “unmasterable”? Following discussion defining the scope of Holocaust victims and what overcoming the past entails, focus turns to the ‘Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.’ Drawing insight from prominent discourse, its commemorative aims and functions are examined. Ultimately, it is concluded that whilst the memorial has brought Germany somewhat closer to coming to terms with its past by ensuring the Holocaust does not pass from public consciousness; it also consolidates a hierarchy of victims.

Without seeking to diminish or challenge the suffering of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, this essay highlights the exclusive nature of commemorative practice in Germany, impeding its ability to come to terms with all of its Nazi crimes.