Overcoming the Past and the «politics of Guilt» in Germany

The article considers key aspects of the transformation of cultural memory in Germany. The arrival of G. Schroeder to the post of Federal Chancellor after the reign of G. Kohl marked serious changes in the political and cultural life of Germany. The public discourse on the issues of historical memory has gone beyond the political stage and has acquired a universal character, accumulating also in the publicistic and scientific spheres. The unification of Germany and the subsequent «historians’ dispute» triggered a new stage in the understanding of the culture of memory, the meaning of which was not only to work on the mistakes of National Socialism, but also of the GDR regime. It is concluded that a new German historical politics and historical narrative is emerging that is not only focused on the memory of the Holocaust, but also on German suffering.