Law, Memory and "Competitive Victimhood”

Germany is often regarded as one of the few countries that actively confront its violent past. In the German context, this engagement is a source of national pride: Rather than erase its darkest chapters, the German society chooses to confront and acknowledge them. To this day, the official narrative remains however incomplete, as only certain aspects of the violent past have been incorporated into collective memory. Collective memory is generally shaped through selective processes, where particular events or narratives are emphasized as important, while others are omitted or marginalized. This selectivity is institutionalized and sustained through political and legal structures. In this sense, selective memory also conceals deeper structural inequalities, particularly the persistent realities of structural racism. Rarely are these selective practices however criticized, yet they raise important questions: Is it really necessary to sideline certain historical injustices and obscure the multiplicity of victims affected by state-sponsored human rights violations? And what structural biases facilitate the state's reinforcement of selective memory? Against this background, this article explores the pivotal role of law in shaping and reinforcing selective memory. It analyses how legal frameworks favour certain narratives of historical injustice while marginalizing others. This article explores how a range of institutional actors contribute to the entrenchment of hierarchies of victims, thereby perpetuating competition among them. To illustrate this dynamic, this article explores the experiences of various victim groups in their quest for official recognition and the accompanying moral and material compensation for their suffering. As will be demonstrated, state actors have treated these groups with striking disparities. These state practices presumably foster division rather than societal cohesion and therefore warrant critical examination.