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Der lange Schatten der Täter: Nachkommen stellen sich ihrer NS-Familiengeschichte
Das Schweigen der Täter, unbearbeitete NS-Verbrechen und Traumatisierungen durch den Zweiten Weltkrieg wirken kaum bemerkt bis heute nach. Still prägen sie als »vererbtes« Leid das Leben vieler Menschen, beschädigen Biografien und Beziehungen. Eingebettet in die aktuelle Forschung erzählt Alexandra Senffts Reise durch das Erinnern, wie das Schweigen zur Last wird. Ihr Buch stellt unbequeme Fragen gegen das Verdrä Weshalb wurden Täter in Opfer verkehrt, welche Rollen spielen Schuld und Scham – und gibt es so etwas wie Gerechtigkeit? Sensibel und klug zeigt dieses Buch den Nachkommen der Kriegsgeneration Wege, sich auf heilsame Weise mit ihrem Erbe auseinanderzusetzen – und macht das Erinnern zum Auftrag in der Gegenwart für die Zukunft.
- GenresHistory
351 pages, Hardcover
Published May 2, 2016
2 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 31, 2023
Ein wichtiges Buch gegen das Vergessen scheußlicher Taten und dessen, wie sich nach der schlimmen Zeit die Gedanken im Kopf halten oder entwickeln.
May 30, 2019
Easy and quick read.
I'm not particularly knowledgeable about German history and how they dealt with WWII. But I did always wonder, if a significant part of the population voted for the Nazis, where did all these people go afterwards? - apart from those who went to South America.
It is kinda obvious, I know, but what that really means only dawned on me in this book. The Nazis would for many Germans today be their parents or grandparents.
The author interviewed different Germans of our times about the Nazis in their families and how their families dealt with having or having had Nazis in their families.
Most families chose one of the following approaches or combination thereof:
a) complete and utter denial even if presented with facts (... er war ein guter Mann...)
b) never ever speak about it
c) embellish the crimes
d) outright defend the criminal (... sie hatte keine Wahl... ...aber er war ein guter Christ!)
e) flat out lie (... die Fabrik haben wir von den Juden gekauft...)
f) pose as victims (... he suffered as pow... - the first part before he became a pow is obviously never mentioned)
g) to a varying degree acknowledge what has happened (... ich bin ein Nazi Enkel...) (this approach refers to the people who gave the interviews).
What I also did not know, is that notable German politicians of recent decades have been very active Nazis a little bit earlier in life.
I thought this was a fascinating read - almost a bit like a psychological investigation.
How does a society move on, if a very large part of the society has committed the most unbelievable crimes.
I don't think the above approaches are the best except for g). I think to move on, one has to fully acknowledge something. Then one can move on.
I would have wished that the book wasn't quite as casual as it was in terms of its analytical approach. After all it does say on the book cover that the author is a scientist. More depth would have been very welcome, since I do think the topic has a lot to offer and expand on.
About 2 chapters added nothing to the book.
It appeared almost as though at least two generations had to pass to create the necessary distance for some of them to use approach g).
She describes very well the situation of feeling like an outcast in the family for those who did decide to use the approach of acknowledging and speaking about it.
This book has 338 pages.
I'm not particularly knowledgeable about German history and how they dealt with WWII. But I did always wonder, if a significant part of the population voted for the Nazis, where did all these people go afterwards? - apart from those who went to South America.
It is kinda obvious, I know, but what that really means only dawned on me in this book. The Nazis would for many Germans today be their parents or grandparents.
The author interviewed different Germans of our times about the Nazis in their families and how their families dealt with having or having had Nazis in their families.
Most families chose one of the following approaches or combination thereof:
a) complete and utter denial even if presented with facts (... er war ein guter Mann...)
b) never ever speak about it
c) embellish the crimes
d) outright defend the criminal (... sie hatte keine Wahl... ...aber er war ein guter Christ!)
e) flat out lie (... die Fabrik haben wir von den Juden gekauft...)
f) pose as victims (... he suffered as pow... - the first part before he became a pow is obviously never mentioned)
g) to a varying degree acknowledge what has happened (... ich bin ein Nazi Enkel...) (this approach refers to the people who gave the interviews).
What I also did not know, is that notable German politicians of recent decades have been very active Nazis a little bit earlier in life.
I thought this was a fascinating read - almost a bit like a psychological investigation.
How does a society move on, if a very large part of the society has committed the most unbelievable crimes.
I don't think the above approaches are the best except for g). I think to move on, one has to fully acknowledge something. Then one can move on.
I would have wished that the book wasn't quite as casual as it was in terms of its analytical approach. After all it does say on the book cover that the author is a scientist. More depth would have been very welcome, since I do think the topic has a lot to offer and expand on.
About 2 chapters added nothing to the book.
It appeared almost as though at least two generations had to pass to create the necessary distance for some of them to use approach g).
She describes very well the situation of feeling like an outcast in the family for those who did decide to use the approach of acknowledging and speaking about it.
This book has 338 pages.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews