Papers Session: The German Catechism and the Politics of German Memory Culture
Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)
For the German political class, the memory of the Holocaust as a break with civilization and loyalty to the State of Israel constitutes the moral refoundation of the country, indeed its “reason of state.” To question this commitment is tantamount to a heresy that leads to ex communication rituals. Palestinians and progressive Jews have been its principle target. This enforcement of the “catechism,” as I call it, intensified since 10.7. This paper will account for the hold and function of the catechism on German memory culture and politics by tracing its evolution over the part 20 years.