vergangenheitsbewltigung

Vergangenheitsbewltigung is a composite German word that describes the process of dealing with the past (lit: Vergangenheit = past; Bewltigung = management, coming to terms with, mastering). It is poignant that the German language contains such a word, given the history of Germany. Vergangenheitsbewltigung describes the attempt to digest and analyse the past and to learn to live with the consequences of the dark chapters of such a past. In Germany this relates to the atrocities committed during the Third Reich, when Adolf Hitler was in power. But Vergangenheitsbewltigung is also characterised by learning from the past. This includes an honesty of admitting that such a past did indeed exist, attempts to remedy as far as possible the wrongs committed, and an attempt to move on from that past.

Vergangenheitsbewltigung

See also