Beyond Oblivion and Passion. Collective Trauma, Inner and External Reality. The Psychoanalytical Perspective

Memory is an outstanding ability of humanity, which is at the core of the identity of a nation. In collective history, the role of memory occupies a dominant place. Culture is obliged to preserve the memory of man-made disasters in order to prevent their recurrence. But memory can also be retraumatizing; have a formula of moral violence, since it retains toxicity and is capable of re-infecting the subject. But how can one find that balance of responsibilities in a culture, remember, between oblivion and passion? The purpose of this work is to study the problems of collective traumatism in the works of Freud: the trauma underlying civilization, the origin of the Super-ego, the concept of a protective membrane, as well as the interaction of the subject with culture. In addition, the purpose of the study is to analyze modern psychoanalytic concepts of collective traumatism, the impact of trauma on the life of the subject and his descendants, as well as the role of culture in the work of grief and in the symbolization of traumatic experience. A genocide of unprecedented proportions, unparalleled in history and confronting humanity with absolute cruelty, led to the destruction of the in-between space, the paralysis of collective memory and the collapse of history. The cultural space, with the help of its intermediaries, was forced to adapt and develop new conditions of psychic survival, where the work of grief, symbolization, and also the prevention of repetition would be possible. Writer Romain Gary was one of the first in France to start talking about the events of the Holocaust. Through his books, he created an in-between space for the disappeared, preventing humanity from subjecting missing people to oblivion. The research hypothesis is that when psychoanalytic work with traumatized patients who have experienced extreme situations, as well as with their descendants, it is necessary to create certain conditions where symbolization of unspeakable, extremely cruel events will be possible. And only thanks to cultural intermediaries does it become possible to process this experience.