Existing comment:
[7 Front]
Convincing facade?
Handling of its own case
01 The "Spirit" of the Rosenburg
The romanticism of the building rubbed off on the mood of the staff. They deliberately looked forward, not back. This attitude enabled past injustice to be ignored. This self-imposed amnesia stood in contrast to a demonstrative enthusiasm for the new start. It is reflected in nostalgic memoires. Sometimes, however, the brown surface below the carefully applied whitewash became visible again. How did those who were exposed justify their actions?
"It was a pleasant, very lively time. (...) People came together for meals, not just at lunchtime. Many people also had their evening meal in the canteen. Back then, official hours of duty played no role. (...) To sum up, one can say: A lot of work was done, and done effectively."
Eduard Dreher, in: Der Geist der Rosenburg, 1991
"Free weekends had not yet been introduced and often even Sundays had to be used for official work."
Heinrich von Spreckelsen, in: Der Geist der Rosenburg, 1991
"In my view, the drive and energy of the Federal authorities and parliamentary bodies of that period can be explained mainly by the immense need for regulation and the will of all the staff to prove themselves in the unique opportunity to build the young republic. We all wanted to achieve something, we all wanted to prove our motivation to ourselves and to others."
Heinrich von Spreckelsen, in: Der Geist der Rosenburg, 1991.
In 1991, the BMJ Staff Council published a volume of reminiscences entitled "The Spirit of the Rosenburg. Memories of the Early Years of the Federal Ministry of Justice". It made no mention of the are not to gradually fall into oblivion, the memories have to be put on paper (...)."
From the preface to "Der Geist der Rosenburg", 1991
02 Suppress or be silent?
Looking back, those involved presented the years in which the BMJ was accommodated in the sequestered, picturesque Rosenburg as a time of intensive joint work and the performance of duties. What is entirely lacking in the "spirit of Rosenburg" that is repeatedly invoked is a critical reflection of the years before 1945. People often knew each other from the Nazi years and knew about many colleagues' Nazi involvement. The fact that people hardly discussed these years among themselves is interpreted partly as a collective suppression of the Nazi period and thus as a failed attempt to reestablish the state.
Another socio-psychological interpretation by Hermann Lübbe sees in this process a "communicative silence." People avoided an open critical discussion of National Socialism in order not to have to discuss people's individual involvement. |