Vergangenheitsbewältigung is a composite German word that describes the process of dealing with the past (lit: Vergangenheit = past; Bewältigung = management, coming to terms with, mastering).

Vergangenheitsbewältigung describes the attempt to digest and analyse the past and to learn to live with the consequences of the dark chapters of such a past. In Germany, this relates to the atrocities committed during the Third Reich, when Adolf Hitler was in power.

But Vergangenheitsbewältigung is also characterised by learning from the past. This includes honestly admitting that such a past did indeed exist, attempting to remedy as far as possible the wrongs committed, and attempting to move on from that past.

See also

• Geschichtsaufarbeitung