A psychoanalytic reflection on collective memory as a psychosocial enclave: Jews, German national identity, and splitting in the German psyche

In this article, I argue that collective identity is built on collective memory, but that this memory is not stable. First, different factions remember differently. Second, collective memory and identity are undermined by a fundamental, internal disorder, ultimately a dread of collapse, which I liken to Freud’s Unbehagen in der Kultur. From a psychoanalytic angle – in particular, recent theories of “social defence systems”, based on “splitting” and “projection” – factional conflict allows a retreat from the fundamental disorder, into a “psychosocial enclave” by externalising into conflict the otherwise internal dread of collapse. Social, cultural, political, or military divisiveness favours such a structure, especially in support of ethnic or national identity. After providing the theoretical background for this model, I use the division and reunification of post-Second World War Germany as an example of coming to terms with the past in establishing a collective identity. Two unexpected consequences follow from a psychoanalytic approach: first, the conflict between the two Germanies established a psychosocial enclave, which allowed a retreat from memory of the Holocaust; second, the reunification of Germany brought out again the need to come to terms with the Nazi period, in order to reclaim national self-esteem. National memories need to converge, and objectifying work, such as that to which German historians have contributed, is essential to managing collective identity in a reasonably stable, democratic form.