On Germany, Genocide and Palestine
Freire's Pedagogy and Historicism
Afternoon Comrades.
It is not that I have been putting off writing about Germany, especially in the light of the genocide and this countries response to it, I have been meaning to do but I do struggle with it a great deal. Not because I unsure about how I feel / where I stand, that is entirely clear but professing objectivity and clarity about a subject in which I am so deeply invested in is hard and more so, I still do not think that I can truly tap into the psyche here to explain what is going on.
For clarity as most of you readers don’t know me privately, I do live in Germany and have done so for 20 years now. Technically, I am English and consider myself to belong to that culture. Nevertheless, I am fully integrated into the society here, I speak the language but there are still large parts of this culture that I genuinely do not understand, not for a lack of trying but I cannot make my head work in a way that it truly feels the German Geist. Much of this has to do, and this applies to all of us and the cultures they call home, with socialization, how we are brought up, the stories we are told and so forth.
Now, as many of you have noticed and have asked for commentary for, the response not only of the German government, large parts of the population but also significant of the self-proclaimed anti-fascist movement here in Germany has been and remains staunchly pro-Israeli. The governments response comes as no surprise, it is no different to the majority of Europe’s and North America’s governments. As an extension of the capitalists class, supporting the state of Israel, the idea of a white western capitalist, militarized outpost of the capitalists vested material interests in one of the worlds most resource rich ares makes total sense. However, and unlike in the rest of the world, even the western European / NA’ one, large parts of the population do this as well without any interest, let alone ability of self-reflection in their actions.
Of course, history. Or rather History with a capital H in the case of Germany, and this is where I am finding one of the root problems in the case of German or rather, Germans. It is too easy to be of the assumption that due to the 3rd Reich and its Holocaust that Germans are all inherently racist. They are, but so is the rest of the Western World. Racism is taught, it is not inherent, nor human, and it has, for as along as we know, be understood by the ruling classes as a tool of mobilisation. As violent as it is, racism is a man-made construct utilized by any ruling class over its citizens to moralize “othering” that in itself only exists as a force to justfiy violence for land, resource and profits. So no, the faulty, illogical and deeply racists response to the genocide in Palestine isn’t “simply” due to the historical fact of the 3rd Reich in Germany and their “shame” - that doesn’t exist. Yet, for the majority of Germans, their response is exactly based on this fact. This is where the reality of pedagogy and historicism comes to fruition.
The way we are taught history is two-fold. One, through our families and their stories as well as our institutions, schools and subsequently, governments. Now, I could weaponize my own history to solidify my own argument, and I’ll quickly show how easy it is, and how to refute it. The grandmother and father that largely raised me were respectively, a Dutch Jewish women who survived the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen. My grandfather was a London working class boy that fought the Nazi’s from Normandy to Hamburg, helping to liberate Bergen-Belsen in the process who then stayed in Germany as part of the occupying forces until the 1980s. It would be too easy to create the impression that my lived-experience of this history gives more insight than others, but it doesn’t. One, my nan denounced her Jewish-ness and never looked back, and my grandfather positively hated and distrusted anything German until he died. Nevertheless, this lived-subjective experience can only add a flavour to reality and certainly can never be reality. For one, it’s subjective and not systemic and more importantly, it is lacking in reality.
History is taught for a reason and that reason is extremely important. It is taught in a linear structure to uphold the structural rule of whatever ruling class exists at that point of time. For example, the way that the 3rd Reich is taught here in Germany is linear and singular. It happened, earliest in 1928 and finished with the “liberation” ( and I despise the use of this word within the German context, again, vast majorities here believe they were themselves liberated rather than defeated ) of Germany. It was one or two generations of Germans that were simply wrong and once liberated the good Germans, well West Germans, returned to rationale and reason. Done. That’s the de-nazification process in a nutshell. Ooops, sorry, our bad, we were wrong, won’t happen again, cough cough.
History, though, and thus the shaping of reality is neither linear nor Hegelian. History as it is taught here didn’t start in 1928 and didn’t finish in 1945 and entirely ignores, for the reason stated above, the long, interconnected reality that ties all of the European Capitalist trajectory together since the 1500s- sure, that makes it more complex and harder to means test but so what. If a poor white trash asshole like myself can learn this so can everyone else, it depends entirely on the systemic reality of teaching. That, of course, is in direct opposition to what our rulers want. The Western Capitalist History is one of racist imperial violence, but we are never taught that, that would undo our core belief in ourselves.
The linear approach to history often perpetuates a narrow perspective that isolates events without considering the complex web of social, economic, and political factors that contribute to historical developments. This reductionist view inhibits a comprehensive understanding of the root causes of events such as the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany. By failing to delve into the multifaceted dynamics of society, historical narratives risk oversimplification and miss opportunities for deep reflection and critical analysis.
Drawing parallels with Paulo Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed," this linear understanding of history aligns with what Freire criticizes as the "banking model" of education. This model treats students as passive receptacles to be filled with information, stifling their ability to critically engage with the subject matter. Similarly, the linear historical narrative can result in a passive consumption of events without fostering a critical examination of the ideologies, power structures, and socio-cultural forces at play.
Freire argues for a more dialogical and participatory approach to education, emphasizing a collective, transformative process where learners actively engage with the subject matter. Applying this perspective to history education would involve moving beyond a linear narrative and encouraging students to explore the interconnectedness of historical events. This would mean examining how societal structures, ideologies, and power dynamics contribute to the unfolding of history.
In the context of Germany's handling of its Nazi history, embracing Freire's pedagogy would lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the conditions that allowed fascism to take root. It would involve acknowledging uncomfortable truths about societal structures, complicity, and power dynamics that contributed to the rise of the Nazi regime. This approach would not only focus on the events themselves but also on the critical analysis of systemic issues to prevent the repetition of such dark chapters in history.
This is still a non-complete train of thought and don’t be surprised if I continue with this over the week, the lessons and inherent consequences are vitally important to our struggle for liberation. Granted, touching on realities that interest us, such as the completely delusional arrogance of vast parts of Germany are important to touch upon but as always, root cause analysis can prevent reactionary simplification and that is important.
As always, thank you for your time and attention.
Yours,
V.
This was good!