The therapeutic imaginary in memory work: Mediating the Finnish Civil War in Tampere

Abstract

The article analyses reconciliatory practices on war remembrance that draw from the imaginary of therapy. The decisive battles of the Finnish Civil War took place on the streets of Tampere in 1918. Only 90 years later, in 2008, was the city of Tampere able to organise a remembrance process, which mediated the war memory through exhibition, street drama, online discussion forums and mainstream media. The remembrance encouraged the disclosure of hidden memories, broke down predatory stereotypes and addressed the transgenerational victimhood and the guilt. I suggest that the case exemplifies a shift in how societies remember: The contemporary, more individualised and plural societies saturated with therapeutic practices are prone to adopt bottom-up and participatory memory practices. At the same time, however, the article points to the limits of memory work. It is not a magic wand for doing away with past injustices. In Tampere, it was possible only for the grandchildren of the war generation.