Germany addressed its racist past. Can America do the same?

As the ashes of the Third Reich settled, a divided Germany struggled to come to terms with what just occurred. Generations of German philosophers, politicians, academics, and common citizens slowly and collectively decided to confront the horrific actions of the Nazis. They called this process “Vergangenheitsaufarbeitung”, or “working off the past”, though it has several names. Step by step, through a feeling of collective guilt and moral responsibility, they were able to make amends with the world and build legal and societal safeguards against hatred and extremism.

Compared to the Germans, the United States has only barely confronted our legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. Throughout the South, the “Lost Cause Narrative” is still common. Confederate generals are still hailed as heroes and the banner of the defeated flies proudly at our halls of power. Like an infected wound that festers, the refusal to face the past and address wrongs have led to voter suppression, police brutality, wealth inequality, systemic racism and a million other things.

Unlike Germany, the U.S. has weak legal and societal safeguards against bigotry and racism. And with the resurgence of Black Lives Matter demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd, it is clear that the United States must finally step up to the challenge and confront our legacy of slavery and racism.

Untextbooked producer Lap Ngyuen became fascinated with America’s response to slavery, the Civil War, and the era of Jim Crow that followed. Lap immigrated to the U.S. as a kid, and has spent years trying to understand its complicated history. His curiosity led him to the work of philosopher and historian Susan Neiman.

In her book Learning from the Germans, Susan Neiman discusses the importance of an American “Vergangenheitsaufarbeitung”. She believes that reparations, education reform, and destroying all vestiges of a glorified Confederacy are just a few ways to allow societal healing to take place.She is hopeful, since young Americans are poised to be the beacon of reconciliation like the German youth were in the 1960s.

Guest: Susan Neiman

Book: Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil

Producer: Lap Nguyen

Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton

Editor: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman