Irreducible Cultural Contexts: German–Jewish Experience, Identity, and Trauma in a Bilingual Analysis

Abstract

This article addresses the themes of culture, identity, and trauma in a bilingual analysis between a German-speaking second-generation Holocaust survivor and an analyst of German descent. By paying attention to the shifts between German and English over the course of the therapy, it becomes possible to see how deeply language is intertwined with culture, history, and traumatic memory in the German–Jewish experience. Both patient and analyst are embedded in multiple cultural contexts and participate in language shifts that shape the process of negotiating and revealing identity. The article suggests that identity is neither fixed nor stable, but linked to the fluid and dynamic shifts of our experiences in the presence of the other person, and of language and culture in general. By focusing on the therapeutic interaction between the patient and analyst, the case demonstrates the degree to which the burden of history, struggle with trauma, and legacy of shame are all embedded in and determined by culture and history across contexts and generations.