Ever since I've known Pascal and become more interested in Germany and German culture I've wondered: what effect does the Holocaust have on the German psyche? Is it ignored? acknowledged? are the Germans (in general) ashamed or indifferent? Through what I've learned in classes and from talking with actual Germans, I've pieced together this picture: the Germans fully acknowledge responsibility for the Holocaust; and, very importantly, they acknowledge that it was not just the Nazis or those directly involved with the killings who were guilty, but really the whole German "volk" (people) through their direct or tacit support of the NS-regime. If you think about it, that is a HUGE weight on the collective conscience. I know that sometimes I feel uncomfortable about my country and society's past with slavery and segregation (and continuing struggle with racism); can you imagine having the knowledge that your country, maybe even your own parents or grandparents, perpetrated genocide on the largest scale the world has ever seen, and in a supposedly "civilized" country in the "modern" era at that?
I have to say, I was very impressed by the official treatment of the topic in Germany. German students told me that in their textbook in school the topic of the Nazis and the Holocaust was not glossed over or avoided at all, but dealt with very directly. And in the House of History in Bonn all of the facts and atrocities are presented dispassionately, without excuses but also without excessive self-flagellation. The Germans, especially of the younger generations, do not walk around with a "mea culpa" attitude every day. Some people have suggested they should, as penance I guess, but I find that frankly ridiculous. I don't believe in the idea of "collective guilt", i.e. that all Germans down to the present day are guilty, simply by virtue of being born German. The younger Germans tend to regard the notion of collective guilt in the same way I do. For them, the Holocaust is not a daily issue. They recognize the full atrocity of it and that it was their country that was behind it, but they don't feel it has any bearing on their lives.
Now, to a certain extent, I feel this is good. They don't need to mentally beat themselves up for something that happened before they were born, or even before their parents were born. However, this disconnect also leads to complacency, which can lead to prejudice. In the past 20 years Germany has seen a rise in the number of Neonazis and right extremists. The increase is not that large, but nonetheless significant. This is a trend not just in Germany, but in America and many other countries as well. It's easy to feel too disconnected from the past, to let small instances of anti-semitism and racism slide and think that something like the Holocaust could never happen again. But it can. Therefore, I think it's important for everybody, not just the Germans, to remember the Holocaust, and, beyond that, actively work to counter prejudice in all forms, so that such a horror truly will never happen again
The following pictures are from Dachau, which my dad and I visited when we were in Munich in March:
Arbeit Macht Frei: symbol of the lies and cruelty of the Nazis
the Appellplatz
where the barracks were
memorials erected by various faiths on the Dachau grounds
the camp border; "Think about how we died here" (entrance to the crematorium)
Holocaust memorial sculpture
