A Coming of Age: Germans Deal with Their Past through Memory Literature

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Coming/of/Age/Germans/Deal/with/Their/Past/through/Memory/Literature/elpepusoc/20110701elpepusoc_10/Tes

Sixty-six years have passed since World War II. The National Socialism (NS) regime has ended, and NS crimes and the Holocaust have become internationally known. Since then Germans have been working on and through their past, forming their "politically correct" politics of memory. The process has included groundbreaking discussions, spectacular controversies and turning points, each of which has brought the country to the present point: Germans seem to have found the proper way of dealing with National Socialism, balancing an appropriate remembrance of the past and at the same time awareness and pride of their national identity.

This process of coming to terms with their past is reflected in the Väterliteratur (father literature), written by German-speaking authors in the postwar German period. Väterliteratur is a type of memory literature that explores the involvement of the authors' fathers in the NS movement during World War II and how this involvement impacts the father-child relationship. The genre is grounded on an autobiographical narration, a collection of researched personal and public documents as well as private memories. The close connection of literature and contemporary history makes it an important contribution in coming to terms with the past.

Father Literature has been continually published since the middle of the 70s to the present day, showing that coming to terms with one's personal and political past is still an issue for both the authors and the public. The publications present various coping methods with the past and the steps taken by Germans since 1945 to the present. Influenced by current political affairs, these publications delineate the process of establishing German politics of memory, which builds a specific framework for dealing with the past and supports the constructs of the German national identity.