Insisting on Uniqueness: Shame and Guilt in German Memory Culture and the Denial of Palestinian Perspectives

Abstract

This paper examines the affects of shame and guilt that underpin the German Holocaust memory culture, exemplified by the uniqueness thesis, and how this contributes to the denial of Palestinian perspectives in German society. It will approach this topic through the case study of the ‘Mbembe Affair’ in 2020. Achille Mbembe’s decolonial work challenged the core dogmas of German memory culture by suggesting connections between the Holocaust and colonialism and revealed a fierce insistence on the Holocaust’s uniqueness in German society. In order to demonstrate that this insistence on uniqueness and its underlying affects play a crucial part in the denial of Palestinian perspectives, the paper first introduces the uniqueness thesis, its implications and counter-narratives. Subsequently, the collective affect of shame and guilt are explored as underlying drivers for this insistence on the Holocaust’s uniqueness. As part of this, it will be demonstrated that a German memory culture shaped by these affects leads to the denial of Palestinian perspectives and experiences of Israeli settler colonisation.