Page 68 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 11(2) (2023)

n 21 June 2021, the Documentation lective memory and remembrance. [Flucht,
Centre for Displacement, Expulsion, Vertreibung, Versöhnung 2021]
OReconciliation (Dokumentationszen- A little later, Chancellor Merkel, in her ad-
trum, Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung) was cere- dress announced: “Today’s opening of the Doc-
moniously opened in Berlin. That this was out of umentation Centre marks a new chapter in our
the ordinary was shown by the prominent line- politics of remembrance” (Presse- und Informa-
up at the opening ceremony: despite Coronavi- tionsamt der Bundesregierung 2021).
rus, the ambassadors of Germany’s neighbour- On the basis of these assertive statements
ing countries to the East, the Federal President by politicians, and from a political science point
Joachim Gauck, members of parliament, the of view, I would like to devote this article to the
Chairman of the Federation of Expellees (Bund question of the extent to which the newly es-
der Vetriebenen - BdV), Bernd Fabritius, and tablished Documentation Centre for Displace-
68 the Minister of State for Culture and the Me- ment, Expulsion, Reconciliation actually offers
dia, Monika Grütters, (CDU) were present and a new approach to the site of remembrance (lieu
studia universitatis hereditati, letnik 11 (2023), številka 2 / volume 11 (2023), number 2
Chancellor Merkel also joined in online. 1 de mémoire) “Flight and Expulsion of the Ger- ti
But it was not only the guest list that reflect- 2
ed the special nature of the occasion; the long mans” (Flucht und Vertreibung der Deutschen),
and controversial history of the founding of this as announced by Chancellor Merkel, and link
this to the politically charged and sensitive ques-
institution that preceded this opening also made tion: how to remember and exhibit negativity ta
this event special. Minister of State for Culture (violence and “immeasurable and millionfold
and the Media, Grütters, recalled in her speech:
suffering” – as mentioned by Ms Grütters)? Is it
For many years, there were struggles and possible to remember the suffering experienced
sometimes bitter disputes about an appro- by displaced persons without having to fear feed- di
priate form of remembrance, not least be- ing the spiral of violence that is already a feature
tween the political camps. And that is why of population transfers? Would not forgetting
today I am filled with gratitude on today’s be more appropriate to break the role reversal
opening day, that, as the saying goes, a visible between victims and perpetrators that marks
sign against flight and expulsion has been the history of forced migration (Gerlach 2011;
set, for which the aged victims and their de- Schwartz 2013, 637–638; Gross 2022)? How to
scendants [...] have waited so long. [Flucht, tackle the question of violence, especially since here
Vertreibung, Versöhnung 2021] the legality of the expulsions remains unresolved
3
And she also underlines its necessity: to this day (Schwartz 2013, 624)?
2 Flucht und Vertreibung (Flight and Expulsion) is an estab-
With today’s opening of the Documenta- lished formula that refers primarily to a traumatising his-
tion Centre for Displacement, Expulsion torical event, when millions of Germans were forced to
and Reconciliation, Germany is facing up to leave their homelands in the East at the end of WWII (to
keep it as general as possible). But the expression also en-
a historical truth that I believe has long been tails in a more metaphorical way a spatial dimension (Lotz
too little recognised: the immeasurable and 2007, 2) and refers implicitly to the lost homelands in the
East and in doing so, to the territorial but also to the cul-
millionfold suffering as a result of flight and tural losses. It is at once a reference to an event and to a
expulsion in and after the Second World space.
War unleashed by Germany. It is a truth that 3 In his conclusion, Michael Schwartz (2013, 624) remarks,
“the legality of the expulsion of the Germans in 1945 re-
is unwieldy and politically uncomfortable mains an unresolved issue to this day”. He also points at
and that for a long time had no place in col- “the ambiguous position of international law with regard studiauniversitatis
to ‘population transfers’ as the ultima ratio in cases of in-
1 The inauguration took place during the pandemic at a time tractable conflicts”. He highlights the contradictions of at-
when meetings were only authorised in very small num- titudes towards forced migrations yesterday and today, but
bers. The video was live-streamed the same day. also the fact that forced migrations do not necessarily al-