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First of all, we get that the Germans are sick of feeling sorry about the war and being perceived by other nations only in the light of those events, when their desire is to be redefined in the present, heading towards an ever brighter future. In such a context it is perfectly understandable for you as individuals to want to say “I am not guilty”, and you’re right, you’re innocent. We even get the weight of such a statement against the darker background of neonazism : it takes courage to speak your own mind while other people keep silent for fear of giving fuel to the fascists.

But if the concept of a nation is to have any deeper meaning at all, it must first have a sense of responsibility. In particular, in a democracy, it is the people who must be held accountable for their collective action. That is the price of our freedom. In a democracy, one is never a citizen by default, it is a conscious choice. Sure, the vast majority of the population do not perceive it in that fashion, rather as a pure convenience. But culture and citizenship are not interchangeable : one inherits the former and accepts/chooses the latter. For example, if you are born into Germany to German parents, you will by default be offered German citizenship, but it is something you must first accept. On the other hand, if you are, say, born in Turkey to Turkish parents, but then immigrate to Germany, you must choose German citizenship. Both are to the same result, and both, as citizens of the German nation, inherit the same responsibility. And yes, you’re right, it would be obtuse to expect you to refuse German citizenship for the sake of past burdens. But it does mean that your desire to be a German citizen is greater than your misgivings about the previous actions of the German nation. And that is fine! No one expects for it not to be the case! Indeed, those events were a long time ago, apologies have been made and everyone is carrying on with their lives. People want to belong to the place where they live.

But the fact of that responsibility does remain. Were it not the case, then nations could never be held accountable. The price the German nation payed for its role in WWII was to be ripped in half. Of course, if you look at the historical record, the actual course of events that lead to the separation was a little more complex than that, but it is the essential content of the Yalta conference. Up until 1989, the German nation was broken, the former entity no longer existed. The reunification was the recognition of the continuity between the new German nation and the old Germany as the same, single entity. So yes, in some sense, it did come with a return of your “ancestor’s baggage”, but enough time had passed for the guilt and the pain to be washed away. All that remains of that responsibility is acknowledgement for past deeds.

And, anyway, everyone perceives these issues in whatever way they feel the most comfortable with, so in the end it only really matters if you want to really get to the fundamental meaning of what a nation is. Sure, there are still people alive who feel painful about the war, and if you meet them you might or might not feel the need to apologize personally. But that really is up to you. No one should expect guilt at the individual level.

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Comment

Yes. But the concept of a nation is that of a continuous entity. Indeed, the individual German citizens of the recent generations are not responsible, but Germany as a nation born of an ever-changing collective bears the responsibility of the Holocaust. To claim oneself a member of a nation includes taking on the baggage of the previous members. Nationhood is separate from culture in that it is a conscious choice, one that should not be taken lightly. If you do not want to bear such responsibility then you should not claim yourself to be a citizen of the German nation.

And this is not unique to Germany. France in particular, along with the remorse over its long history of colonial abuse, bears a strong undercurrent of guilt about the Holocaust. Indeed, a significant proportion of the French population during the occupation were complicit in the deportation of Jews, whether through direct action or inaction. The current contention between freedom of speech and guarding against antisemitism is but the displacement activity of this unspoken guilt.

This often echoes subconsciously within the French political sphere : one politician last year, in answer to another’s demand for the French nation to accept its responsibility in the Holocaust, claimed that the nation of France, as a disembodied concept, wasn’t present in the country during the occupation, and so this therefore removes from the responsibility of the French nation. This is of course deeply pathological bullshit, but it proves the notion of a nation’s continuity.

What those of the younger generation who call into question their collective responsibility seem to forget is that the reunification of Germany as the same, single nation came with the price of their ancestor’s baggage.

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