Vergangenheitsbewältigung in The Reader

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Vergangenheitsbewältigung in The Reader

Germany's history is different from all other countries in the world. From 1933 to 1945 Adolf Hitler and the Nazis ruled the people. Everyone was forced to follow the Nazis rules and individuals were stripped of all of their freedom. The Nazis were also committing mass executions of certain classes of people. Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, handicapped, and other groups of people were treated unfairly and stripped of all their rights. This cruel treatment attracted the attention of countries from all around the world. The events taking place in Germany and neighboring countries led to the outbreak of World War II. Many Germans are not proud of their country's history. It is hard for individuals to do, but everyone must cope with it. Coping with the past, or Vergangenheitsbewältigung, has influenced the way people in Germany have lived their lives.

In The Reader there are many examples of individuals having to cope with the past. Hanna Schmitz was a member of the SS during the Holocaust. She served in concentration camps in Auschwitz and a camp near Cracow. Although Hanna never killed anyone herself, she was involved in taking people to be executed. She must go to court for her actions while being in the SS. When Hanna was a guard she would pick certain girls to read to her. "Yes she had favorites, always one of the young ones who was weak and delicate," says a survivor of the Holocaust during Hanna's trial (Schlink 116). Hanna knew the younger, weaker girls would not tell anyone what they were doing for her. Hanna was illiterate so she enjoyed being read to by the girls. Hanna's entire life is being influenced by all the actions that happened in her past.

Hanna is involved in a love affair with a boy less than half her age named Michael Berg. Their relationship is kept secret from people and is rather strange, mostly because of Hanna's past. Their relationship is based around the same principles as Hanna's special prisoners in the concentration camps. After many meetings together Hanna and Michael do not know each other's names. When Michael asks Hanna about her name she suspiciously replies, "Why do you want to know?

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