leo burghaus

I grew up in Spain, but all my family is German.

It is very curious to see how differently both countries confront their past.

There are some obvious historical reasons why that is. Franco stayed longer in power. Franco was the head of one side of a civil war; Hitler caused a world war with other countries. Franco died in power and put the roads in place for Spain after him; Hitler left Germany occupied by opposing forces.

But on the other hand, there is also a deep cultural difference in how trauma is confronted, which led to these episodes being viewed significantly differently.

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Germany

The years of Hitler’s ascent and power are viewed as a collective feverish dream in Germany. The awakening from that dream was a cold bucket of water.

The nation had been captured by a figure who took them by surprise and brought them on a short but intense ride. Before they knew it, many were taken from their families to fight on all fronts against enemies that had been chosen for them. Initial promises of prosperity and order fueled the people for a while, but eventually, it all took a turn when it became clear that this war could not be won. Not long after the initial success, the enemy entered their homes and showed them the horrors that were done in their name.

Germans had to confront a very ugly truth: their nation had messed up. It was the second time in 30 years, but this was a different ballgame. Apart from being responsible for a world war, it came with the realization of how inhumane the persecution of minorities was. So Germany was left in shackles, under the control of external forces, and with a heavy conscience of what was done.

Additionally, nobody would let them forget it and move on. There were debts to be paid, responsible people to be tried, and a lot of work to be done to ensure this did not happen again. The following generations were made to carry the burden of what was done: school was very insistent on the amount of harm done, with many detailed accounts of all the mistakes. It is cruel to put that on children who had nothing to do with the wrongdoing, but awareness of the capacity for evil is the basis for combating it. That is especially true if, in the families, there were still generations from that period alive, who might still hold dangerous views.

So much for historical context. It made it very difficult for Germany to not be very aware of what happened. But there is another element that affected how the situation was handled: Germans themselves. That’s why a look at some philosophical elements is essential.

The concept of Kritik (critique) is deeply rooted in German thought. Kant first, and later Hegel, instilled in Germans a consciousness of the importance of being critical, but most importantly, being self-critical. Other thinkers like Nietzsche and Marx further illustrate how German thought is heavily characterized by the constant reevaluation of values and the application of critique to economic and societal norms.

It comes as no surprise, then, that the heavy philosophical background of Selbstkritik created Vergangenheitsbewältigung. Vergangenheitsbewältigung is the term Germans came up with to describe “coming to terms with the past.” It’s heavily rooted in the consciousness of the country and exemplifies their willingness to confront their past and ensure it does not happen again.

It is a very direct (a.k.a. German) way of confronting the past, but it also leaves room for a sentiment that is ever-so-present in German thought: guilt and shame.

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Spain

Spain is different. As opposed to a collective enemy, there were deep divisions in the country, many years in the making, which provoked the infamous and brutal civil war. These divisions might have been regional (as always, Madrid and Barcelona exemplifying their big differences in one more instance), but mainly ideological and between social classes.

The two sides (nationalists and republicans) coexisted in the same territory before and after the war. Even in families. Even if the nickname Guerra de Hermanos is debated and has some political nuances, it still is a sign that many families became divided based on how the members viewed the political situations. This should come as no surprise: we all know brothers (maybe even our own) who would fight on different sides in a civil war.

After Franco’s victory, his nationalist party took power, which he kept until his death. These nearly 40 years were characterized by many things, one of which was the continuous persecution of the republicans or other opposing forces. Catalans didn’t have a good time either, even their language was forbidden. The same goes for Basque, Valencian, or other regional cultures.

As Spain evolved during those 40 years and opened itself to the world, the repression became less and has, kind of, faded away. When Franco died, King Juan Carlos was the one elected as the following Head of State of Spain. He correctly saw that the best way forward for Spain was to become a democracy and installed the necessary requirements for it. A solid and relatively modern constitution was created, and political parties formed, mostly by political leaders who had risen to power under Franco. It became known as La Transición.

The thing with this transition? Nobody is really sure when it ended. Officially, we use the year 1981 because that year marks the last failed coup attempt in Spain. But many republicans (or nowadays, the left) argue that even today, Spain is still washing out the residual waste of Franco’s influence in the Spanish political class.

It might seem like Spain would maintain it’s ruling class and ideas, but slowly and surely, other ideas and leaders came into power. Not even 30 years after the death of their dictator, Spain became the 3rd nation worldwide to legalize same-sex marriage. So the country just kept going, and evolving.

And if there is a feeling of ambivalence in the description I’m giving you, it is because that’s how it feels in the country too. Spain never really confronted its past like Germany. I believe this has two reasons.

First, it’s obvious that those who stayed in power wanted to quickly move on. The famous Pacto del Olvido (Pact of Forgetting) is an informal agreement between parties on both sides to forget what happened. To be fair, because of all the different identities in the country, an effort to collectively confront the troubles of the past would prove impossible without a large part feeling attacked.

Second, it was a very Spanish way of doing it. If it’s working, why fix it? La Transición was a step in the right direction, and the country has been doing better ever since. And because Spain’s cultural heritage is one often focused on the acceptance of the struggle of life, they just kept going. Writers like Miguel de Unamuno, Ortega y Gasset, or even Cervantes in El Quijote, explore the inherent contradiction between idealism and pragmatism. Another element that is inherent to Spanish culture is unresolved tensions. Famously, Lorca exposes this in Bodas de Sangre or Yerma, but the topic can be found in many of the influential writers.

Spain focused on its pragmatism to, once again, move forward after a bad time. And you can’t blame them for doing so.

In the past decades, there have been more efforts to make the past right, especially with the Ley de Memoria Histórica (Law of Historical Memory). It seeks to promote recognition, reparations, and justice for victims of the conflict and the dictatorship, as well as to foster national reconciliation. This has met more opposition than initially expected, especially because all the efforts come from the left, while the right is more willing to move on.

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What About Now?

While Germany’s self-critical approach reflects a deeply ingrained philosophical tradition, Spain’s pragmatic ‘move forward’ attitude stems from its historical and cultural aversion to reopening wounds. Both these approaches made a lot of sense and have so far worked.

But they have obvious downsides, that just really show years later.

I think, on one hand, Germany’s inherent guilt and shame have put them in a position where they felt they had to overcompensate, which ended up hurting the country or its people. As one of the powerhouses in Europe, it’s not a good thing for the country to always be walking with its head down.

Spain, on the other hand, hasn’t really resolved the issues that led to the civil war. The country is, and will probably still be for a long time, divided—not only into smaller national identities but also by a deep cultural divide that is effectively still Republicans and Nationalists.

To each their own, I guess.