Repentance for the Holocaust : Lessons from Jewish Thought for Confronting the German Past / C.K. Martin Chung.

Turning in the God-human relationship -- Interhuman and collective repentance -- People, not devils -- Fascism was the great apostasy -- The French must love the German spirit now entrusted to them -- One cannot speak of injustice without raising the question of guilt -- You won't believe how thankful I am for what you have said -- Courage to say no and still more courage to say yes -- Raise our voice, both Jews and Germans -- The appropriateness of each proposition depends upon who utters it -- Hitler is in ourselves, too -- I am Germany -- Know before whom you will have to give an account -- We take over the guilt of the fathers -- Remember the evil, but do not forget the good -- We are not authorized to forgive.

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"Develops the biblical idea of "turning" (tshuvah) into a conceptual framework to analyze a particular area of contemporary German history, commonly referred to as Vergangenheitsbewältigung or "coming to terms with the past." Chung examines a selection of German responses to the Nazi past, their interaction with the victims' responses, such as those from Jewish individuals, and their correspondence with biblical repentance. In demonstrating the victims' influence on German responses, Chung asserts that the phenomenon of Vergangenheitsbewältigung can best be understood in a relational, rather than a national, paradigm"-- Publisher's Web site.

Description based on print version record.