Dealing with the German past

Before starting to write this post, I had a long moment of thinking: what is the category to include this post about the newly published book about the German diplomats during the IIIrd Reich? First choice was to include in a post on foreign affairs and politics - because, as usual, the decision to create a commission to investigate the past is foremost a political decision and this was the red line followed during the discussions taking place yesterday, at a full Haus der Kulturen der Welt. But, after deliberations, I decided that it have to deal with memory and recent painful history and included in my history blog. I bought the book yesterday and I will be back with an extensive

review as soon as my German will allow me to do it. This is the reason why I will focus on a couple of remarks about the issue at large. Using myths in building identity narratives is common place in the history. The role of historians is to document and diversify the sources in order to do not allow the misuse of identities for political reasons. The truth is not pleasant, welcomed or desired. But it have to be followed and exposed. Being relatively familiar with the ways of working of a foreign minister, I continue to be astonished about the surprise of discovering the strong connections between the Foreign Ministry and the Third Reich. Diplomats, in every political regime, as the interface of the home politics and their actions are following a clear political mandate. It was never different and will never be different. The access to the documents to explain certain situations is problematic always, for this reason and you need political will for offering the proper conditions for academics to do their work.

It was interesting for me to watch Joschka Fischer's interventions directed against the idea of "elitism" of the diplomats. He is the product of his times, of a stormy German post-war youth, accusing their parents of the frustrations of a complicate present. Understanding this past is a good insight of understanding various directions of the present, including the diplomatic stances at certain moment regarding the situation from the Middle East. Can't wait to start reading.