Abstract
This paper examines the role played by the encounter of history and personal memories in the difficult process of coming to terms with the Stasi in present-day eastern Germany. While historians have made substantial progress over the last two decades in accounting for the wide range of ways in which the German Democratic Republic (GDR) is remembered by East Germans, the memorials and museums of the reunified Germany remain unable to integrate memories of dictatorial oppression and happiness in everyday life. Sites commemorating state repression are thus often assumed to lack impact on former GDR citizens whose memories differ from official versions of history. These assumptions are tested for the Bautzen Memorial, formerly known as the ‘celebrities’ prison' of the East German Ministry of State Security. Focusing on the differing receptions of GDR memorial sites, this article draws on interviews with two former political prisoners and with visitors to the Memorial who grew up in socialist East Germany. It argues that the open approach of the Memorial, which leaves visitors to draw their own conclusions from the exhibition, allows different stakeholders to find ways of personal engagement with the past at the site despite the disparities with their own memories.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks go to Pedro Ramos Pinto, whose advice and encouragement proved invaluable for this project. The author would also like to thank Josie McLellan, Tom Beaumont, Peter Coates and the two anonymous reviewers for their extremely helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.
Notes
2. Interview with CitationSilke Klewin (manager of the Memorial), Bautzen Memorial, 3 January 2012. It is particularly interesting to note that the exchange of the traffic signs was never mentioned in the media.
4. CitationFaulenbach, “Diktaturerfahrungen und demokratische Erinnerungskultur in Deutschland,” 15. All translations from the original German by the author.
7. For an overview of this immense debate, see: CitationJesse, “Die Totalitarismusforschung im Streit der Meinungen.”
10. An inventory of these sites can be found in: CitationKaminsky, Orte des Erinnerns.
11. CitationLudwig, “Representations of the Everyday,” 37–48. A more optimistic view that identifies tendencies to reduce this binary opposition can be found in: CitationPaver, “Colour and Time in Museums of East German Everyday Life.”
14. The debates around the commission are documented in: CitationSabrow et al., Wohin treibt die DDR-Erinnerung?
16. CitationSabrow, “Empfehlungen der Expertenkommission zur Schaffung eines Geschichtsverbundes ‘Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur,’” 21.
20. A brilliant overview of the upsurge of memory in historical writing can be found in: CitationKlein, “On the Emergence of Memory in Historical Discourse,” 127–50.
35. Interview with Silke Klewin.
36. Interview with Silke Klewin.
39. Interview with Silke Klewin.
40. Quote from the first lines of the section entitled “Abuses” in the introductory Stasi exhibition room.
43. For a detailed discussion of the Hohenschönhausen Memorial, see: CitationJones, “At Home with the Stasi.”
44. A permanent exhibition which will allow visitors to explore the site partly independently is currently under construction and scheduled to open in the autumn of 2013.
45. CitationNeiss, “Historisches Lernen durch Emotionen?,” 1027–8.
53. CitationKlein, “On the Emergence of Memory in Historical Discourse,” 145.
54. See, for example: CitationCrane, “Memory, History and Distortion in the Museum,” 44–6.
55. Among the numerous former prisoners of Bautzen II, the two interview partners were selected because they are the only ones who still live in or near Bautzen. Contact was established through the Bautzen Memorial, for which I especially thank Cornelia Liebold. The interviews were led by a loose set of questions which started with the former prisoners' current relation to the Memorial and then led on to the comparison with their own recollections.
56. Interview with Bernd Trommer, Hoyerswerda, 4 April 2012.
57. Interview with Gerhard Schneider, Bautzen Memorial, 29 December 2011.
58. Interview with Silke Klewin.
60. Interviews with Bernd Trommer and Gerhard Schneider.
61. CitationBrown, “Trauma, Museums and the Future of Pedagogy,” 249, 258.
64. Interview with Silke Klewin.
65. Interview with Gerhard Schneider.
67. Interviews with Bernd Trommer and Gerhard Schneider.
69. Interviews with Bernd Trommer and Gerhard Schneider.
72. The West German visitors were included as a reference point for comparison. All interviewees were aged between 35 and 65, with an average age of 52 years.
73. Visitor 5 in Interview 3; Visitor 13 in Interview 7.
74. Visitor 22 in Interview 10.
75. See especially: Visitor 1 in Interview 1; Visitor 17 in Interview 8.
76. Visitor 4 in Interview 3.
77. Visitor 22 in Interview 10.
78. See especially: Visitor 20 in Interview 9.
79. Visitor 17 in Interview 8.
80. I was only rejected once, for genuine reasons of time pressure.
81. See especially: Visitor 2 in Interview 2; Visitor 13 in Interview 7; Visitor 6 in Interview 4.
82. Particularly influential was: CitationFricke, “Im Haus der prominenten Staatsfeinde.”
83. See especially: Visitor 2 in Interview 2; Visitor 6 in Interview 4.
84. See, for example: Visitor 20 in Interview 9; Visitor 11 in Interview 6.
85. See especially: Visitor 17 in Interview 8; Visitor 4 in Interview 3.
86. Visitor 10 in Interview 5; Visitor 1 in Interview 1.
89. Visitor 10 in Interview 5.
90. Visitor 21 in Interview 10.
94. Interview with Silke Klewin.
98. See especially: Visitor 6 in Interview 4; Visitor 21 in Interview 10.
100. As Silke Klewin stressed in the interview.
101. CitationAdorno, “What Does Coming to Terms with the Past Mean?,” 115, 128.
Fricke
,
Karl-Wilhelm
and
Klewin
,
Silke
.
2007
.
Bautzen II: Sonderhaftanstalt unter MfS-Kontrolle, 1956 bis 1989. Bericht und Dokumentation
,
Dresden
:
Sandstein Verlag
.
Klewin
,
Silke
.
2006
.
“
Zur Arbeit der Gedenkstätte Bautzen
”
. In
Woran erinnern? Der Kommunismus in der deutschen Erinnerungskultur
,
Edited by:
März
,
Peter
and
Veen
,
Hans-Joachim
.
153
–
164
.
Cologne
:
Böhlau
.
Klewin
,
Silke
.
2009
.
“
Bautzen
”
. In
Erinnerungsorte der DDR
,
Edited by:
Sabrow
,
Martin
.
43
–
54
.
Munich
:
C.H. Beck
.
Faulenbach
,
Bernd
.
2004
.
“
Diktaturerfahrungen und demokratische Erinnerungskultur in Deutschland
”
. In
Orte des Erinnerns: Gedenkstätten, Gedenkzeichen und Museen zur Diktatur in SBZ und DDR
,
Edited by:
Kaminsky
,
Annette
.
15
–
30
.
Leipzig
:
Forum Verlag
.
Sabrow
,
Martin
.
2009
.
“
Die DDR erinnern
”
. In
Erinnerungsorte der DDR
,
Edited by:
Sabrow
,
Martin
.
9
–
28
.
Munich
:
C.H. Beck
.
Mitter
,
Armin
and
Wolle
,
Stefan
.
1993
.
Untergang auf Raten: Unbekannte Kapitel der DDR-Geschichte
,
Munich
:
Bertelsmann
.
Jesse
,
Eckhard
.
1998
.
“
Die Totalitarismusforschung im Streit der Meinungen
”
. In
Doppelte Last, doppelte Herausforderung: Gedenkstättenarbeit und Diktaturenvergleich an Orten mit doppelter Vergangenheit
,
Edited by:
Haase
,
Norbert
and
Pampel
,
Bert
.
33
–
52
.
Frankfurt/Main
:
Peter Lang
.
Saunders
,
Anna
and
Pinfold
,
Debbie
.
2012
.
“
Introduction: ‘Wissen wie es war?’
”
. In
Remembering and Rethinking the GDR: Multiple Perspectives and Plural Authenticities
,
Edited by:
Saunders
,
Ann
and
Pinfold
,
Debbie
.
1
–
15
.
Basingstoke
:
Palgrave Macmillan
.
Fulbrook
,
Mary
.
2011
.
“
Histories and Memories: Verklärung or Erklärung?
”
. In
Remembering the German Democratic Republic: Divided Memory in a United Germany
,
Edited by:
Clarke
,
David
and
Wölfel
,
Ute
.
91
–
101
.
Basingstoke
:
Palgrave Macmillan
.
Fulbrook
,
Mary
.
1995
.
Anatomy of a Dictatorship: Inside the GDR, 1949–1989
,
Oxford
:
Oxford University Press
.
Jarausch
,
Konrad
.
1999
.
“
Care and Coercion: The GDR as Welfare Dictatorship
”
. In
Dictatorship as Experience: Towards a Socio-Cultural History of the GDR
,
Edited by:
Jarausch
,
Konrad
.
47
–
69
.
Oxford
:
Berghahn
.
Fulbrook
,
Mary
.
2008
.
The People's State: East German Society from Hitler to Honecker
,
London
:
Yale University Press
.
Pence
,
Katherine
and
Betts
,
Paul
, eds.
2008
.
Socialist Modern: East German Everyday Culture and Politics
,
Ann Arbor
:
University of Michigan Press
.
Fulbrook
,
Mary
, ed.
2009
.
Power and Society in the GDR, 1961–79: The “Normalisation of Rule?”
,
Oxford
:
Berghahn
.
Kaminsky
,
Annette
, ed.
2004
.
Orte des Erinnerns: Gedenkstätten, Gedenkzeichen und Museen zur Diktatur in SBZ und DDR
,
15
–
30
.
Leipzig
:
Forum Verlag
.
Ludwig
,
Andreas
.
2011
.
“
Representations of the Everyday and the Making of Memory: GDR History and Museums
”
. In
Remembering the German Democratic Republic: Divided Memory in a United Germany
,
Edited by:
Clarke
,
David
and
Wölfel
,
Ute
.
37
–
53
.
Basingstoke
:
Palgrave Macmillan
.
Paver
,
Chloe
.
2012
.
“
Colour and Time in Museums of East German Everyday Life
”
. In
Remembering and Rethinking the GDR: Multiple Perspectives and Plural Authenticities
,
Edited by:
Saunders
,
Anna
and
Pinfold
,
Debbie
.
132
–
146
.
Basingstoke
:
Palgrave Macmillan
.
Jones
,
Sara
.
2011
.
“
At Home with the Stasi: Gedenkstätte Hohenschönhausen as Historic House
”
. In
the German Democratic Republic: Divided Memory in a United Germany
,
Edited by:
Clarke
,
David
and
Wölfel
,
Ute
.
211
–
222
.
Basingstoke
:
Palgrave Macmillan
.
Sabrow
,
Martin
.
2007
.
“
Empfehlungen der Expertenkommission zur Schaffung eines Geschichtsverbundes ‘Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur.’
”
. In
Wohin treibt die DDR-Erinnerung? Dokumentation einer Debatte
,
Edited by:
Sabrow
,
Martin
.
17
–
45
.
Berlin
:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
.
Clarke
,
David
and
Wölfel
,
Ute
.
2011
.
“
Remembering the German Democratic Republic in a United Germany
”
. In
Remembering the German Democratic Republic: Divided Memory in a United Germany
,
Edited by:
Clarke
,
David
and
Wölfel
,
Ute
.
3
–
22
.
Basingstoke
:
Palgrave Macmillan
.
Sabrow
,
Martin
.
2007
.
“
Empfehlungen der Expertenkommission zur Schaffung eines Geschichtsverbundes ‘Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur.’
”
. In
Wohin treibt die DDR-Erinnerung? Dokumentation einer Debatte
,
Edited by:
Sabrow
,
Martin
.
17
–
45
.
Berlin
:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
.
Ludwig
,
Andreas
.
2011
.
“
Representations of the Everyday and the Making of Memory: GDR History and Museums
”
. In
Remembering the German Democratic Republic: Divided Memory in a United Germany
,
Edited by:
Clarke
,
David
and
Wölfel
,
Ute
.
37
–
53
.
Basingstoke
:
Palgrave Macmillan
.
Benz
,
Wolfgang
.
2011
.
Die DDR als Museumsobjekt
.
Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft
,
12
:
995
–
1007
.
Halbwachs
,
Maurice
.
1992
.
On Collective Memory
,
London
:
University of Chicago Press
.
Klein
,
Kerwin Lee
.
2000
.
On the Emergence of Memory in Historical Discourse
.
Representations
,
69
:
127
–
150
.
Nora
,
Pierre
.
1996
.
“
General Introduction: Between Memory and History
”
. In
Realms of Memory: Rethinking the French Past, Volume I: Conflicts and Divisions
,
Edited by:
Nora
,
Pierre
.
1
–
20
.
Chichester
:
Columbia University Press
.
Assmann
,
Aleida
.
2006
.
Der lange Schatten der Vergangenheit: Erinnerungskultur und Geschichtspolitik
,
Munich
:
C.H. Beck
.
Assmann
,
Jan
.
1995
.
Collective Memory and Cultural Identity
.
New German Critique
,
64
:
123
–
133
.
Cubitt
,
Geoffrey
.
2007
.
History and Memory
,
Manchester
:
Manchester University Press
.
LaCapra
,
Dominick
.
1998
.
History and Memory after Auschwitz
,
London
:
Cornell University Press
.
Cubitt
,
Geoffrey
.
2007
.
History and Memory
,
Manchester
:
Manchester University Press
.
Wineburg
,
Sam
.
2001
.
Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past
,
Philadelphia
:
Temple University Press
.
Ulrich
,
Maren
.
2006
.
Geteilte Ansichten: Erinnerungslandschaft deutsch-deutsche Grenze
,
Berlin
:
Aufbau Verlag
.
Haustein
,
Petra
.
2006
.
Geschichte im Dissens: Die Auseinandersetzungen um die Gedenkstätte Sachsenhausen nach dem Ende der DDR
,
Leipzig
:
Leipziger Universitätsverlag
.
Portelli
,
Alessandro
.
2006
.
“
What Makes Oral History Different?
”
. In
The Oral History Reader
,
Edited by:
Perks
,
Robert
and
Thomson
,
Alistair
.
32
–
42
.
London
:
Routledge
.
Fricke
,
Karl-Wilhelm
and
Klewin
,
Silke
.
2007
.
Bautzen II: Sonderhaftanstalt unter MfS-Kontrolle, 1956 bis 1989. Bericht und Dokumentation
,
Dresden
:
Sandstein Verlag
.
Hattig
,
Susanne
,
Klewin
,
Silke
,
Liebold
,
Cornelia
and
Morré
,
Jörg
.
2008
.
Stasi-Gefängnis Bautzen II, 1956–1989. Katalog zur Ausstellung der Gedenkstätte Bautzen
,
Dresden
:
Sandstein Verlag
.
Fricke
,
Karl-Wilhelm
and
Klewin
,
Silke
.
2007
.
Bautzen II: Sonderhaftanstalt unter MfS-Kontrolle, 1956 bis 1989. Bericht und Dokumentation
,
Dresden
:
Sandstein Verlag
.
Gedenkstätte Bautzen. “Besucherzahlen 2011.” Unpublished paper, Collection Bautzen Memorial 2012
Klewin, Silke. “Konzeption: Gedenkstätte Bautzen in der ehemaligen Haftanstalt Bautzen II. Im Auftrag der Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten zur Erinnerung an die Opfer politischer Gewaltherrschaft.” Unpublished paper, Collection Bautzen Memorial 1997
Klewin, Silke. “Konzeption: Gedenkstätte Bautzen in der ehemaligen Haftanstalt Bautzen II. Im Auftrag der Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten zur Erinnerung an die Opfer politischer Gewaltherrschaft.” Unpublished paper, Collection Bautzen Memorial 1997
Klewin, Silke. “Konzeption: Gedenkstätte Bautzen in der ehemaligen Haftanstalt Bautzen II. Im Auftrag der Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten zur Erinnerung an die Opfer politischer Gewaltherrschaft.” Unpublished paper, Collection Bautzen Memorial 1997
Klewin, Silke. “Konzeption: Gedenkstätte Bautzen in der ehemaligen Haftanstalt Bautzen II. Im Auftrag der Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten zur Erinnerung an die Opfer politischer Gewaltherrschaft.” Unpublished paper, Collection Bautzen Memorial 1997
Landsberg
,
Alison
.
2004
.
Prosthetic Memory: The Transformation of American Remembrance in the Age of Mass Culture
,
New York
:
Columbia University Press
.
Jones
,
Sara
.
2011
.
“
At Home with the Stasi: Gedenkstätte Hohenschönhausen as Historic House
”
. In
the German Democratic Republic: Divided Memory in a United Germany
,
Edited by:
Clarke
,
David
and
Wölfel
,
Ute
.
211
–
222
.
Basingstoke
:
Palgrave Macmillan
.
Lennon
,
J. John
and
Foley
,
Malcolm
.
1996
.
Interpretation of the Unimaginable: The US Holocaust Museum, Washington, D.C., and ‘Dark Tourism.’
.
Journal of Travel Research
,
38
:
46
–
50
.
Klewin, Silke. “Konzeption: Gedenkstätte Bautzen in der ehemaligen Haftanstalt Bautzen II. Im Auftrag der Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten zur Erinnerung an die Opfer politischer Gewaltherrschaft.” Unpublished paper, Collection Bautzen Memorial 1997
Jones
,
Sara
.
2011
.
“
At Home with the Stasi: Gedenkstätte Hohenschönhausen as Historic House
”
. In
the German Democratic Republic: Divided Memory in a United Germany
,
Edited by:
Clarke
,
David
and
Wölfel
,
Ute
.
211
–
222
.
Basingstoke
:
Palgrave Macmillan
.
Neiss
,
Marion
.
2011
.
Historisches Lernen durch Emotionen? Die Gedenkstätte Hohenschönhausen: Eindrücke
.
Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft
,
12
:
1025
–
1032
.
Rudnick
,
Carola
.
2011
.
Die andere Hälfte der Erinnerung: Die DDR in der deutschen Geschichtspolitik nach 1989
,
Bielefeld
:
Transcript Verlag
.
Schmeidel
,
John C.
2008
.
Stasi: Shield and Sword of the Party
,
Oxford
:
Routledge
.
Bruce
,
Gary
.
2010
.
The Firm: The Inside Story of the Stasi
,
Oxford
:
Oxford University Press
.
Klewin, Silke. “Konzeption: Gedenkstätte Bautzen in der ehemaligen Haftanstalt Bautzen II. Im Auftrag der Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten zur Erinnerung an die Opfer politischer Gewaltherrschaft.” Unpublished paper, Collection Bautzen Memorial 1997
Williams
,
Paul
.
2007
.
Memorial Museums: The Global Rush to Commemorate Atrocities
,
Oxford
:
Berg
.
Williams
,
Paul
.
2007
.
Memorial Museums: The Global Rush to Commemorate Atrocities
,
Oxford
:
Berg
.
Nora
,
Pierre
.
1996
.
“
General Introduction: Between Memory and History
”
. In
Realms of Memory: Rethinking the French Past, Volume I: Conflicts and Divisions
,
Edited by:
Nora
,
Pierre
.
1
–
20
.
Chichester
:
Columbia University Press
.
Klein
,
Kerwin Lee
.
2000
.
On the Emergence of Memory in Historical Discourse
.
Representations
,
69
:
127
–
150
.
Crane
,
Susan A.
1997
.
Memory, History and Distortion in the Museum
.
History and Theory
,
36
:
44
–
63
.
Klewin, Silke. “Konzeption: Gedenkstätte Bautzen in der ehemaligen Haftanstalt Bautzen II. Im Auftrag der Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten zur Erinnerung an die Opfer politischer Gewaltherrschaft.” Unpublished paper, Collection Bautzen Memorial 1997
Brown
,
Timothy P.
2004
.
Trauma, Museums and the Future of Pedagogy
.
Third Text
,
4
:
247
–
259
.
Caruth
,
Cathy
.
1995
.
“
Recapturing the Past: Introduction
”
. In
Trauma: Explorations in Memory
,
Edited by:
Caruth
,
Cathy
.
151
–
157
.
London
:
John Hopkins University Press
.
Roth
,
Michael S.
2012
.
“
Introduction
”
. In
Memory, Trauma and History: Essays on Living with the Past
,
Edited by:
Roth
,
Michael S.
xiii
–
xlv
.
Chichester
:
University Press
.
Williams
,
Paul
.
2007
.
Memorial Museums: The Global Rush to Commemorate Atrocities
,
Oxford
:
Berg
.
Bennett
,
Jill
and
Kennedy
,
Rosanne
.
2003
.
“
Introduction
”
. In
World Memory: Personal Trajectories in Global Time
,
Edited by:
Bennett
,
Jill
and
Kennedy
,
Rosanne
.
1
–
15
.
Basingstoke
:
Palgrave Macmillan
.
Hooper-Greenhill
,
Eilean
.
2006
.
“
Studying Visitors
”
. In
A Companion to Museum Studies
,
Edited by:
Macdonald
,
Sharon
.
362
–
367
.
Oxford
:
Blackwell
.
Gedenkstätte Bautzen. “Besucherzahlen 2011.” Unpublished paper, Collection Bautzen Memorial 2012
Klewin
,
Silke
.
2006
.
“
Zur Arbeit der Gedenkstätte Bautzen
”
. In
Woran erinnern? Der Kommunismus in der deutschen Erinnerungskultur
,
Edited by:
März
,
Peter
and
Veen
,
Hans-Joachim
.
153
–
164
.
Cologne
:
Böhlau
.
Fricke, Karl-Wilhelm. “Im Haus der prominenten Staatsfeinde.” Deutsche Zeitung, 20 November 1959
Bruce
,
Gary
.
2010
.
The Firm: The Inside Story of the Stasi
,
Oxford
:
Oxford University Press
.
Knigge, Volkhard. “‘Weinen bildet nicht!’ Interview mit dem KZ-Gedenkstätten-Leiter Volkhard Knigge über Buchenwald im Kulturstadtjahr und die Reaktionen der Besucher.” Der Spiegel, 23 December 1996, 162
Honnigfort, Bernhard. “Die schöne Stadt und ihr bekannt schlechter Ruf: Das ostsächsische Bautzen, 1000 Jahre alt, leidet unter seiner unrühmlichen jüngeren Knast-Geschichte.” Frankfurter Rundschau, 8 January 1994
Leinemann, Jürgen. “Das deutschere Deutschland.” Der Spiegel, 14 September 1998, 56
Cornelia
,
Liebold
.
2004
.
“
Zielgruppenarbeit in der Gedenkstätte Bautzen
”
. In
Deutsche Teilung: Repression und Alltagsleben. Erinnerungsorte der DDR-Geschichte
,
Edited by:
Behrens
,
Heidi
and
Wagner
,
Andreas
.
225
–
233
.
Leipzig
:
Forum Verlag
.
edited by
Schwartz
,
Barry
.
1982
.
The Social Context of Commemoration: A Study in Collective Memory
.
Social Forces
,
61
:
374
–
402
.
Sabrow
,
Martin
.
2009
.
“
Die DDR erinnern
”
. In
Erinnerungsorte der DDR
,
Edited by:
Sabrow
,
Martin
.
9
–
28
.
Munich
:
C.H. Beck
.
Rosenberg
,
Tina
.
1996
.
The Haunted Land: Facing Europe's Ghosts after Communism
,
New York
:
Vintage Books
.
Gedenkstätte Bautzen. “Besucherzahlen 2011.” Unpublished paper, Collection Bautzen Memorial 2012
Adorno
,
Theodor
.
1986
.
“
What Does Coming to Terms with the Past Mean?
”
. In
Bitburg in Moral and Political Perspective
,
Edited by:
Hartman
,
Geoffrey H.
114
–
129
.
Bloomington
:
Indiana University Press
.
Knabe
,
Hubertus
.
2007
.
Die Täter sind unter uns: Über das Schönreden der SED-Diktatur
,
Berlin
:
Propyläen Verlag
.