Humanitarianism as debt: Germany and its Traumatic Memory

Angela Merkel’s decision to unreservedly open her country’s borders in 2015 to hundreds of thousands of refugees represents one of the most significant events in the history of Germany in the 20th century. Both the Chancellor’s determination and the attitude expressed by the majority of the citizens...

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Autores:
Martín Martín, Juan Manuel
Domínguez Macías, Leopoldo
Tipo de recurso:
Fecha de publicación:
2022
Institución:
Universidad EAFIT
Repositorio:
Repositorio EAFIT
Idioma:
spa
OAI Identifier:
oai:repository.eafit.edu.co:10784/33329
Acceso en línea:
https://hdl.handle.net/10784/33329
Palabra clave:
Germany
refugee crisis
humanitarianism
cultural memory
past traumas
Alemania
crisis de refugiados
humanitarismo
memoria cultural
traumas del pasado
Rights
License
Copyright © 2022 Juan Manuel Martín Martín, Leopoldo Domínguez Macías
Description
Summary:Angela Merkel’s decision to unreservedly open her country’s borders in 2015 to hundreds of thousands of refugees represents one of the most significant events in the history of Germany in the 20th century. Both the Chancellor’s determination and the attitude expressed by the majority of the citizens must be interpreted in the context of a history characterized both by the suffering inflicted by Germans and by their own suffering as a result of the war conflicts in which they were involved. In this respect, German humanitarianism after 1990 owes, in part, a debt to the past: either as restitution for the harm done or as a reminder of the pain suffered. For decades, fields as diverse as political discourse and literature contributed to shaping a cultural memory that focused on 20th century trauma and on national responsibilities that had not yet been fulfilled.