Social Trauma

Abstract

Social trauma is a collectivity's response to what is experienced as an overwhelming threat to its cultural identity and social order. Two models of social trauma are presented. As a collective response toward the ‘collapse of social order’ social trauma results in anomie and disintegration. As a ‘construction of collective memory’ social trauma refers to an incomprehensible event of the past that cannot be integrated into the identity of a group. Other than a simple addition of individual traumata social trauma extends also to those members of a group who as individuals do not have personal memories or experiences of the traumatizing event. Social trauma frequently leads to a belated response: a period of latency has to be passed through before the trauma can be spoken out and recognized in public debates. These public debates about the trauma presuppose the participation of a detached third party that was not directly and personally involved in the traumatizing event—neither as perpetrator nor as victim.