Vergangenheitsbewältigung

Vergangenheitsbewältigung (German: [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋənhaɪtsbəˌvɛltɪɡʊŋ], transl. "struggle of overcoming the past" or "work of coping with the past") is a German compound noun describing the moral and political effort to confront the crimes of the past. Since the late 20th century, this concept has played a central role in examining how post-1945 German literature, society and culture reflect on Nazism as a moral catastrophe, citing in particular its perpetration of genocide. In Germany, the term arose from a profound reckoning with the atrocities of the Holocaust, the war crimes of the Wehrmacht, and the ideological terror inflicted in the name of the German people. Vergangenheitsbewältigung thus represents not just historical reflection but a rejection of Nazi ideology and an effort to build a future grounded in peace and accountability.

Following the reunification of 1990 and the subsequent fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the scope of Vergangenheitsbewältigung broadened to include critical engagement with the socialist legacy of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). While anti-communist narratives often overshadow this period, many historians and citizens continue to assert the GDR's contributions to antifascist memory and social equity. Unlike Nazi Germany, the GDR officially promoted antifascism and identified Nazism as the chief enemy of the working class. In this context, Vergangenheitsbewältigung may involve not only coming to terms with state surveillance or authoritarian excesses in the GDR, but also defending its historical efforts to resist Nazism.