Very thought provoking... How do you deal with group or cultural guilt? Why are there so many Holocaust museums in the US and none focused on slavery?

p. 419 http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/...

p. 463 http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/...

p. 464 http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/...

p. 464 ���But seen through a long lens, peacemaking founded on 'forgetting' appears to have a limited lifespan.���

Feels a bit dated... Maybe if I'd come across it 20 years ago (or whenever it was published), it would have made more of an impact.

Ровичкане в историческата тиня – “Дълги сенки” на Ерна Парис: http://www.knigolandia.info/2009/12/b...

Канадката Ерна Парис си е поставила тежка задача – да изследва националната памет за тежки исторически събития като войни и репресии. За прицелна точка тя е взела Германия, Франция, Япония по отношение Втората световна война, САЩ за робството и Южна Африка и апартейда. Парис обикаля тези държави към края на 90-те и резултатът е една великолепна книга.

This book impacted the way I evaluated the presentation of history. It is an indepth look at how different countries handle the black marks that exist in their pasts.

Although this was not a quick or entertaining read, I think it was worth it. Each chapter focuses on a place and an issue: holocaust in germany, ww2 human rights violations in japan, apartheid in south africa, slavery in usa, war crimes in yugoslavia, etc. Each chapter introduces people and issues that show the complexities of each theme, and in particular relates the role of memory, apology and forgiveness.

It has been a while since I read this book, but I mentioned it in a review for "Sarah's Key" and thought I should put in a comment here.

A well-written, and comparatively easy to read, look at the significance of 'national memories', the stories of a country's past. In this case, for my interest, mainly WWII: the Holocaust for France and Germany and the wartime actions of Japan, each country being at a different stage of coming to terms with the 'real' versus the 'official' story. The author delves into the impact of the 'official' stories and how that affects the national consciousness, as well as those citizens who know the truth to be otherwise and have their voices silenced or ignored.

A thought-provoking and worthwhile read.

A read about the struggles of countries painful histories of slavery, apartheid, Holocaust & Hiroshima. I am just beginning it.

Who decides what happened in the past? Who decides how we learn it?

This is a book that needs to be read, and thought about. Unfortunately it is so very relevant today. It brings the ideas and views of people who commit enormous crimes into the open, and opposes them with a whole variety of views of the victims. The conflicting ideas all require personal assessment. It's a hard, long, read, but very moving and thought-provoking.

shared with Sarah - outstanding perspective - one of those books you think about just about every month thereafter

On the phoenomenon of how nations, societies, and individuals face up to the shameful historical events of their recent past. Starts off with how Germany faces up to its Nazi past. So far, a good read.