Called to lead Europe, Germany weighs its national guilt. Is it time to move on?
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Mark Sappenfield Senior global correspondent
| Berlin
Since World War II, perhaps nothing has shaped German identity more than a keen sense of remembrance.
German leaders鈥� determination to make their country face its atrocities and take responsibility for them has changed how Germans view their nation 鈥� and how the world views Germany. As much as any industry or initiative, this culture of remembrance, or Erinnerungskultur, has allowed Germany to rebuild trust, rejoin the family of nations, and thrive.
But as Europe commemorates the 80-year anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, polls show a growing desire among Germans to 鈥渄raw a line鈥� under the Nazi era and not feel so burdened by the past. Many are asking themselves the question: When is enough, enough?
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onWith Europe looking to Germany for economic and military leadership, the country鈥檚 approach to its Nazi history is an increasingly pressing concern. For many Germans, the question is how to move on, without forgetting the past.
The path Germany takes will have profound consequences, from how it leads in an urgently militarizing Europe, to whether right-wing extremism might rekindle the kind of resurgent nationalism that the country has scrupulously avoided since World War II.
The remembrance culture 鈥渨as an ingredient in Germany鈥檚 success story 鈥� a degree of humility, a patience, a willingness to engage in dialogue,鈥� says Jennifer Yoder, an expert in postwar Germany at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. 鈥淣ow, Germany鈥檚 legacy is at an interesting inflection point.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 too much鈥�
For his part, Olaf Erdmann wishes Germany could be more positive about itself.
He is visiting Berlin with his wife from the western German industrial city of Bielefeld, and they have paused at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe 鈥� a rippling landscape of somber gray stone monoliths intended to evoke a mass graveyard.
The monument has had its moments of controversy. In 2017, a leader of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party cited the monument as an example of the remembrance culture run amok.
The Germans were the 鈥渙nly people in the world who planted a memorial of shame in the heart of their capital,鈥� said Bj枚rn H枚cke. Another AfD leader famously called the Nazis 鈥渏ust a speck of bird poop in more than 1,000 years of successful German history.鈥�
As Mr. Erdmann looks out over the memorial, he makes a different point.
鈥淲e must remember, yes,鈥� he says. But the intensity of Germany鈥檚 remembrance culture? 鈥淚t鈥檚 too much.鈥�
Germany has much to be proud of. 鈥淲e are a world leader in freedom,鈥� Mr. Erdmann says. Yet abroad, Germans are still caricatured as Nazis, and the remembrance culture plays a part by overdoing it. 鈥淚t was a terrible time, but we need to move forward. Not forget, but move forward.鈥�
Polls show many Germans agree. The Foundation for Remembrance, Responsibility, and the Future has been charting German attitudes since 2018 through its MEMO Study. Until this year, over half of respondents disagreed with the idea of drawing a line under the Nazi era. , only 37% did 鈥� fewer than the 38% who generally agreed.
聽showed similar results. It also found that 55% of Germans agreed that 鈥渢he constant memory of National Socialism prevents Germans from developing a healthy national consciousness, like citizens of other countries have.鈥�
Martin Sabrow does not see this as reason to panic. A leading German expert on history and remembrance, he says there has always been a degree of resistance to the remembrance culture.
What鈥檚 new is the widespread agreement with Mr. Erdmann. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not a demand to forget, but to say, 鈥楾his happened, but it should not be a burden for the future,鈥欌�� says Dr. Sabrow, a senior fellow at the Center for Contemporary History in Potsdam.
In some ways, that is a sign of progress. 鈥淚t is part of history now,鈥� he adds. 鈥淣o one would say anymore, 鈥榯he German army never committed any atrocities.鈥� That was the thinking in the 1950s, 鈥�60s, and 鈥�70s. Today, our past is well known.鈥�
But it might suggest a need for evolution.
鈥淭he power of the culture of remembrance is not to redeem the collective German identity,鈥� says Leon Walter, a contributor to the MEMO Study and a social psychologist at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence. 鈥淭he point is to understand the atrocious things that have happened and to derive lessons for contemporary German society.鈥�
Moral authority through empathy
Some of those lessons might require rethinking tenets of remembrance culture.
For example, the Nazi past has led Germany both to an ironclad support of Israel and a strong aversion to war in general. That makes it even harder for Germany to address the complexities of the Gaza war and the threat from Russia.
鈥淲e鈥檙e now one of the strongest economies in the world, but we鈥檙e not strong militarily,鈥� says Dr. Sabrow. 鈥淏ut it is necessary with the threat of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. In this case, the legacy of the remembrance culture does not fit with the challenge of the present.鈥�
There are also lessons that underline the enduring benefits of remembrance. Survey after survey shows that those who engage in remembrance are less likely to hold prejudiced views toward Jews and other groups, Mr. Walter says.
Dr. Sabrow recently felt that firsthand.
Last week, he was invited to talk in Bassano del Grappa, Italy, for the town鈥檚 remembrance of its liberation from the Nazis 80 years ago. Thirty-one photos stood in front of trees running down 鈥淢artyrs Avenue.鈥� The photos honored the 31 resistance fighters the Nazis summarily hanged despite promises of pardon.
鈥淏eing there, you feel so shameful as a German,鈥� says Dr. Sabrow. 鈥淵ou feel a little more than responsibility, you feel empathy.鈥�
That spirit has shaped the strength of modern German leadership. 鈥淭here is a moral authority Germany has enjoyed,鈥� says Dr. Yoder of Colby College. 鈥淎s part of Europe, for Germany to move away from that, its partners would miss that part of Germany鈥檚 identity.鈥�
The fight for Germany鈥檚 soul
Yet there is evidence many Germans remain committed to that ideal.
Every February, Dresden seeks to commemorate the Allied bombing attack in 1945 that essentially erased the city. Leaders use the moment to caution against war and the horrors of the Nazi era. And all around swirls a fight for Germany鈥檚 soul.
Starting in 2005, right-wing groups began holding their own event to promote the idea that the bombing was a war crime and that聽 Germany was the victim. Soon after that, others began coming to Dresden, too 鈥� pink-haired punk counterprotesters and Grandmas Against the Right. All arrived to hold the line for the Germany that remembrance has built, and they continue to come every year.
Says Dr. Yoder: 鈥淭hey show the hard work that Germans are willing to do to make sure this history is remembered.鈥�
