Inclusion and Exclusion Intertwined

Inclusion and exclusion intertwined – a sociological self-examination of a German-Dutch-Jewish family biography in the context of racism and war

For over 30 years I have worked as a scholar in the areas of racism-research and education. While, during this time I have studied processes, consequences and causes of negative stereotyping, othering and exclusion I now dare, for the first time to do a "sociological self-examination", excited and encouraged by the reading of a text by Pierre Bourdieu (published in 2001 under that title). The focus is my German-Dutch biography, which is also about my Jewish grandfather from Rotterdam (Netherland), whose daughter (my mother) during the occupation by troops from Nazi-dominated Germany fell in love with a German soldier (my father). My analysis shows a form of inclusion in a bi-national family, asserting after war and holocaust a ‘normality’, that almost compulsively is ‘forward looking’, but excludes all the issues that have to do with racism and injuries from the past. That ‘leaden silence’ makes family possible, suggests harmony, and closeness and affection can occur, while key life events of family members remain untouchable. ‘Covering narratives’ are at the foreground, and for certain experiences it appears that there is no discursive space, neither in the family nor in the social context. This has consequences: inclusion and exclusion are almost inextricably intertwined and occur simultaneously inside and outside the bi-national family; and violence and fear find their way, uncontrollably, barely discussable.