ZURÜCK

DIE DRITTE SCHULD

“This ‘second guilt’ presupposes a ‘first guilt’ of the Germans, or the majority of the Germans under Hitler. The ‘second guilt’ is the denial and repression of the first guilt, and not just in moral terms – it is deeply institutionalized, which I called ‘the great peace with the perpetrators’. (...)
These days a ‘third guilt’ will form unless the young German generation does not regard Germany’s history as a burden but as a challenge for the future. They must be ready to
shoulder their responsibility. But are Germans capable of honestly coming to terms with past? It’s not enough to struggle with an insecure identity, to call one’s nation peace-loving or even pacifist and yet at the same time still be the third largest war profiteers in the world.”