by Team
"Wounded and shattered: a conversation about practices of reconciliation"
Panel discussion
Panel guests:
Prof. em. Dr Klaus-Michael Kodalle (philosopher, Jena)
Dr Martin Morgner (historian, writer, Halle/Saale)
Moderation:
Prof Dr Dagmar Freist (historian, Oldenburg)
Reflecting on reconciliation in the context of 20th century German history is challenging. Because the demands of the victims are not congruent with the interests of the 'others'. When we talk about forgiveness as the "centre of ethics" (Kodalle, Verzeihung denken, 2013), we have a new moral and political beginning in mind. But reconciliation cannot be demanded. The aggrieved party can refuse to accept the expectations of forgiveness. While society seems to be interested in 'normalisation' as quickly as possible after a change of system, the victims of state terror struggle for social recognition of the suffering inflicted on them. Talk of reconciliation then easily appears to be trivialised. This can be illustrated by the time factor: A victim may need more time to come to terms with their individual damage/trauma than the world around them, which is quick to forget or willing to repress. Processes of reconciliation are therefore characterised by strong contrasts. The culture of remembrance and the politics of commemoration are intended to compensate for these profound differences or make them bearable.
It is precisely these tensions and discrepancies that literature works on. It offers victims a forum to express the subtle processes of self-healing. There are numerous books and films based on experiences in and with the GDR. In his book Zersetzte Zeit (2015), Martin Morgner, a guest of the Kolleg, takes a completely different approach. Here, what the surveillance state recorded about him in file notes and protocols is juxtaposed with his creative texts. This reveals how a subject who became an object of observation by the state had to wrestle with the attacks on his person in order to regain and develop his self over time through writing: Putting together the decomposed (Morgner, 2014). Is reconciliation possible through self-education? This will be one of the many questions to be clarified in the discussion.
Date: 14.07.2015
Time: 19:30
Place: Schlaues Haus