An examination of human nature that highlights the connection between trauma and violence and focusses on German history
…and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free
John 8:32
Still from the film Das Vermächtnis/The Legacy
Blog 1. Introduction
The collective, institutional and industrialised violence of German National Socialism at the beginning of the 21st century deeply shook the previously existing image of a human being who was constantly cultivating and improving according to the humanistic model as civilization increased. How could acts of violence on such a scale take place among a ‘civilised nation’?Even in the face of these atrocities, art and culture seemed to have become questionable.(Adorno’s declaration that writing poetry after Auschwitz would be barbaric)
(Adorno 1949).
It is therefore necessary that we revise our self-image and fundamentally expand our knowledge of human nature to understand how violence becomes possible and thus also how violence can be prevented. We can no longer undo the murders of the National Socialist regime, but we can use the extreme level of violence as an opportunity to reflect in depth on our own nature and history. If we recognize connections that can prevent violence in the future, then the many victims of this time will not have been in vain.
The aim of this blog series is to promote such a discussion and thus help us understand ourselves better as humans. This understanding should enable us to live more in harmony with ourselves, our environment and others. If we succeed in using the violence of National Socialism as an opportunity to promote such an understanding, then we would subsequently be able to give meaning to the suffering of the victims.
Personally, as a German and therefore a descendant of those who were involved in this violence, I see such a confrontation as a possibility for atonement but at the same time as an opportunity for an urgently needed positive change in a present marked by new outbreaks of violence.
Method
For this examination of human nature, which uses the barbarity of National Socialism as an impetus to explore the mental origins of violence, I will refer to studies from different disciplines, which I will connect with one another. I will use studies from neurobiology, psychotherapy and psychology, sociology, history and anthropology, literature, music, art and media studies to provide an understanding of trauma and violence and to place this in the context of European history and culture. For this multi- and interdisciplinary approach, it will be necessary to reproduce some detailed and complicated processes in a simplified form. The focus will be on illustrating basic principles, while precise details cannot always be mentioned. However, I will refer to the respective studies in the text and provide details of the authors and their publications at the end of each blog so that those research findings can be accessed in the original.
The theoretical part of this blog is based on a doctoral thesis published in English in 2013, as well as further subsequent research. The blog series is divided into 3 parts, with the first dealing with the causal connection between trauma and violence, the second part considering German history and culture in this context and the third part drawing conclusions for our present and future.
Blog overview
Part 1: Trauma and violence
Blog 1. Introduction
Blog 2. Understanding human nature
Blog 3. The concept of trauma
Blog 4. Trauma as psychological rupture a) Memory
Blog 5. Trauma as psychological rupture b) Trauma memory
Blog 6. Trauma as psychological rupture c) The consequences of traumatic memory
Blog 7. Experiences in the social context that are comparable to trauma a) The Importance of attachment and social connection
Blog 8. Experiences in the social context that are comparable to trauma b) Attachment issues/ loss of social connection and violence
Blog 9. Loss of social connection and violence in the wider societal context.
Part 2: Trauma and German history
Blog 10. Loss of social and societal connection within German history: a historical, socio-historical and sociocultural exploration
Blog 11. The concept of inequality as a legitimation of violence in early European history A) The greaco-roman heritage
Blog 12. The concept of inequality as a legitimation of violence in early European history B) Europe during the early Middle Ages
Social Crisis in German history
Blog 13. A) The Peasant War 1524-1525
Blog 14. B) The 30 Year War 1618-1648.
Blog 15. C) The Prussian wars of Liberation 1797-1813.
Blog 16. D) The Industrial Revolution.
Blog 17. E) World War I
Blog 18. Industrialised and institutionalised violence as a consequence of unprocessed social crisis
Part 3: The Way forward
Blog 19. Rebuilding lost relationships
Blog 20. The good and the bad news and what we can learn from the violence of National Socialism
Blog 21. In search of a new perspective
Blog 22. Epilog
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Part 2
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Part 3
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