Quote:
“The denial of a universality based on the equality of human beings […] continues to this day. […] The dark side of European ethics is no longer as dark as it once was, but it is still in great need of light.”
Source:
Quote translated after: Charlotte Wiedemann (2022): Den Schmerz der Anderen begreifen. Berlin: Ullstein Verlag, p. 54.
Picture: Anette Daugardt
Author Bio:
Charlotte Wiedemann (*1954) is a journalist and author currently working on memory cultures and postcolonial thinking.
Context:
The quote points out that Europeans see themselves as the founders of equality for all people, while at the same time, as former colonial powers, they refuse to come to terms with and compensate for colonial crimes. Every step must be claimed, fought for and negotiated by the victims. The quote is located in more recent discussions about global cultures of remembrance, in which the relationship between colonialism and National Socialism in particular is being debated. In her journalistic book, Wiedemann reconstructs concrete entanglements, simultaneities and contradictions between (post-)colonialism and (post-)National Socialism.Further Reading:
*Charlotte Wiedemann (2022): Repairing the Damage to Our Ethical Categories. A Conversation with Charlotte Wiedemann. Interview by Ferenc Laczó, in: The Review of Democracy.
Year:
2022