Germany’s Lessons on Confronting a Racist Past
The philosopher Susan Neiman explains what the United States can learn from postwar Germany.
Despite a centurieslong history of violent racism and its bitter legacy that remains very much alive, American society has long managed to avoid fully confronting its brutal past. It was only the tumult of the Trump era and last year’s protests following the killing of George Floyd that have led to a crescendo of pleas for the United States to finally reckon with its history. But exactly how such a reckoning would look has opened up a whole new debate.
Allison Meakem is an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @allisonmeakem
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