Unlearning Prejudice Through Memory? Contemporary German Memory Politics and Human Rights Education

Abstract

This article is about contemporary memory politics in Germany, with a special focus on memory education as a function of governmentality. It describes the linkage of the memory of the Holocaust with present-day human rights causes and examines education that is intended to use that memory to create better German citizens. I look into the widely accepted idea that in a democracy, citizens not only have rights but also obligations to behave in accordance with the society's values. By examining the citizen's alleged obligations and how they are characterized by different forms of memorializing historical events, I offer insight into the rationale for injecting a retrospective view into present-day politics and educational efforts that are intended to accomplish that. Contemporary German memory education is to a great extent influenced by global educational programs such as those supported by UNESCO. I come to the conclusion that many of the programs aimed at German citizens include education about the Holocaust and are considered to be "naturally" complementary to promoting human rights. Nevertheless, the German government's proclaimed aim of advancing respect for human rights and thereby creating a more peaceful future carries with it a risk of becoming a stepping stone to the assumption of a morally superior position that will result in new forms of exclusion.

Memory as a means of governmentality

“…6 To be more precise, by learning what is often called "the lessons of the Holocaust," every citizen-subject is called upon to be alert and to protect, if necessary, the (neo)liberal democratic state. The reason for this, as I have already argued elsewhere (Antweiler, 2019(Antweiler, , 2022, to put it in the most simple way, is that an active engagement in Holocaust memory is considered to be a sign of respect for democratic values and structures, and thus proves moral credibility. And, since in contemporary democratic discourse, human beings are called upon to become active citizens who are responsible for the moral well-being of society (Brown, 2015;Cruikshank, 1999), this means that each and every one of us is in charge of harnessing and protecting liberal democracy's core values and achievements, which are generally associated with peace, tolerance and, above all, human rights.…”

“…By turning to the Holocaust, every citizen-subject is at once reminded of the dangers of undemocratic behavior and consequently called upon to stay alert and to protect, if necessary, the democratic order. In this vein, education about the Holocaust is more and more frequently used to motivate those, who supposedly lack respect for liberal democratic values to "unlearn" their morally questionable believes (Antweiler, 2019). Supranational organizations like UNESCO and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (hereafter IHRA) similarly rely on memory of the Holocaust to foster democratic citizenship across the globe.…”

“…By turning to the Holocaust, every citizen-subject is at once reminded of the dangers of undemocratic behavior and consequently called upon to stay alert and to protect, if necessary, the democratic order. In this vein, education about the Holocaust is more and more frequently used to motivate those, who supposedly lack respect for liberal democratic values to “unlearn” their morally questionable believes (Antweiler, 2019).…”