Breaking the Veil of Silence by Jobst Bittner

Author:Jobst Bittner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TOS Publishing · Tübingen
Published: 2013-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The Grandchildren of the War

The generation of the grandchildren of the war grew up in an era of prosperity. In fact, they lacked nothing. But behind the façade of economic growth, the generation of the grandchildren of the war was all the more subtly affected by the repercussions of National Socialism. After the war, traumas, fears, and aggressions were lived and passed on in a realm that was closed to the public: in the families. “The generation that was born between 1960 and 1975 has more questions than answers. Why do so many of them feel unsure, that they do not really know who they are and where they want to go? What are the reasons for their vague fear of the future? Why do so many of them remain without children?” These are the questions listed on Simone Bode’s book cover on the Grandchildren of the War. 132 For this generation, it is hard to imagine that Germany’s disastrous past can affect their lives today, casting its dark shadow over them.

We have seen now how the previous generations put a taboo on family involvement during the Nazi era, and how they remained silent concerning their wartime experiences. Over decades, an entire chapter of war history had been repressed. What followed next in Germany was the “Generation Golf” (contemporaries of the “Generation X” in the United States, named after the favorite car for young people of the time, the VW Golf or Rabbit). They had devoted themselves to consumerism, and expected a golden future. But many of them suffer from recurring blockages, vague anxieties, a sense of rootlessness and leaden guilt, without ever being able to explain what may have caused these problems. It is striking how often they talk about not having solid ground under their feet. For most of them, it is a totally new thought to imagine that their insecure approach to life could originate from their grandparents, who never recovered from their wartime experiences. 133 Perhaps this could also serve to explain yet another phenomenon that can be observed in them. This is the frequent conflicts with their parents that often remain unvoiced, but lead to an ever-increasing alienation. They would all agree in saying that they just feel sure that they are simply unable to reach their parents emotionally, even with their best endeavors. 134 Even though they are aware that something is wrong in their family, they are usually unable to put their finger on it, and do not know what it is. By now we realize the reasons behind this. Many grandparents of the grandchildren of the war had to fight for their survival one way or another. You had to somehow survive, and that was all. They were able to push aside and repress their experiences of guilt, depression, mourning, and death – but hardly ever could process them. Such was the world their children were born into. They were given diapers and food, and that had to suffice. They were alive and had to be grateful to be better off than their parents.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.