Replicating Atonement: The German Model and Beyond

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Part of the Palgrave Macmillan Memory Studies book series (PMMS)

Abstract

Gabowitsch surveys the global spread of collective atonement, a family of phenomena ranging from public apologies to restitution measures and transitional justice. Observing that the nation-state remains the principal framework for such politics of regret and that those engaging in them usually do so by imitating other countries rather than specifying universal norms, Gabowitsch identifies four ways in which national experiences of atonement have been turned into models for other countries to follow: springboards, yardsticks, foils, and screens. He goes on to discuss the rise of Germany’s image as a master atoner, analyzing push and pull factors that have contributed to perceptions of German moral success. Throughout, Gabowitsch shows how the volume’s individual chapters contribute to understanding the implications of attempts to replicate atonement.

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Notes

Acknowledgements

While this book is not a conference volume, some of its contributors participated in an Einstein Forum conference I organized in Berlin and Potsdam in June 2011 titled Translating Atonement, with support from the Hamburg Institute for Social Research. I wish to thank all participants as well as my colleagues at the Einstein Forum for an illuminating conference and the authors of this volume for their patience in the face of numerous delays.

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Copyright information

© The Author(s) 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Einstein ForumPotsdamGermany

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