Memento Auschwitz: Growing Up in Post-War Germany

In this article, I provide some biographical data that is emblematic of the ways in which growing up in Germany shaped my sense of what it means for me to be a German. By explaining the notions of collectivity, Hour Zero, Betroffenheit, and Wiedergutmachung, I identify the leading, albeit in hindsight contradictory, notions that organized my experience under the overarching memento of my life: memento Auschwitz.