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This third and last article in this series will explore the potential of
breaking the silence with which so many have lived for too long.
In the previous article, we untangled two threads in that complex, politicized and emotionally laden fabric of historical narratives of trauma. Starting of with a personal thread, we left of with an exploration of a national strand in this fabric- the historical narratives of the Dutch. But also in a global context, stories of German suffering are unlikely to find a listening ear, let alone sympathy. The inconceivable and terrifying suffering of the Holocaust makes incredible and insignificant the suffering of Germans. Their tragedy is in the eyes of others-often including in the eyes of their own family and community-insignificant in comparison to the tragedy of the Jewish people. For Germans, the victim role is burdened as well. Except for followers of the extreme right, many Germans are quite uneasy to see themselves as victims. Knopp argues that many parents felt (especially after the Nuremberg trials, which showed that quite ordinary people had been capable of extraordinary cruelty) that they were suspect. As a consequence, says Knopp, many chose silence over open discussion. Others, after having being imprisoned, displaced and or exiled, were not only afraid of legal and social judgment, but also burdened with all sorts of unresolved feelings over their role in the war as well. And many of them responded to their children's questions with silence as well. This silence has undoubtedly added to the general sense of suspicion, the deep-seated sense of shame, guilt and responsibility and the conviction among many Germans that they are perpetrators. What's more, it originated more trauma. In the words of one of the children of a former German prisoner of war: "In order to be a loyal son, I live the pain of my family." Losing Two Eyes Memories of deliberate cruelty, of terror, destruction and deportation simply can't be avoided. Even when silenced, it lives on in people and their families. A Russian proverb states, "dwell on the past and you will lose an eye. Forget the past and you will lose both eyes." In not responding collectively to organized and deliberate cruelty to others, we might lose both eyes. Because even what German scholar W. G. Sebald referred to as a 'conspiracy of silence' cannot prevent people responding to terrorization, degradation and humiliation with anger and hatred. References Britzman, D. P. (2000). If the story cannot end. In R. J. Simon, S. Rosenberg, & C. Eppert. (Eds.), Between hope and despair: Pedagogy and the remembrance of historical trauma. (pp. 27-58). New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Knopp, G. (2002). Hitler's Children. Stroud: Sutton. Oppenheimer, L. & Hakfoort, I. (2003). Will the Germans ever be forgiven? Memories of the Second World War four generations later. In E. Cairns, & M. D. Roe. (Eds.), The role of memory in ethnic conflict (pp. 94-103). New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Sebald, W. G. (2003). On the natural history of destruction. Toronto: Knopf. Van den Heuvel, E. (2005). Duitsers gingen ook dood. Gelderlander, Februari 12, 2005, De Bijlage, p. 1 Visser, R. (2002). Deconstructing the "myth of resistance": The Dutch, the Germans, World War II and an oral history project. In T. S. Poetter, C. Haerr, M. Hayes, C. Higgins, K. Wilson Baptist (Eds.), In(ex)clusion (Re)visioning the democratic ideal. New York: Educator's International Press. Wever-Rabehl, G. (2005). Liberation from the Future and the Past: Naming and Mourning the Germans Who Died. European Weekly, June 2005. Wever-Rabehl, G. (2004). Inside the parrot cage: Dialogues and reflections on history, trauma and memory. Lincoln: IUniverse.
The copyright of the article History, Trauma and Memory III in Anthropology is owned by Gerda Wever-Rabehl. Permission to republish History, Trauma and Memory III in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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