Expellee grief scarred into contradictory bitterness yet moved toward acceptance

Evidence

To claim that the wounds of exile from the German East “healed” over time might portray the process in too positive a light. For as they healed, the wounds of the past quite often scarred over in ugly ways. In the same nostalgic poem or travel account, a laudable comment about human dignity and forgiveness could be followed by bitterness and blame. Despite such mixed and even contradictory content, however, the momentum of the expellee scarring process tended toward the same general destination. Mourning for their own losses, they started accepting consequences, such as the loss of their homes in the former German East. — Andrew Demshuk, The Lost German East, 139

Categorization

• XREF: The scar-over/acceptance pattern parallels the reader’s question about what happens to threat-hardened solidarity as integration proceeds — traces the same decline dynamic in the expellee case. — connects to: Grief and desire can coexist in profound moments of reflection. — Lynch, Thomas, The undertaking-life studies from the…, 441; Grief encompasses a range of complex, untidy emotions. — Lynch, Thomas, The undertaking-life studies from the…, 616

Broader Connections

• Grief encompasses a range of complex, untidy emotions. #expands (0.80) — Lynch, Thomas, The undertaking-life studies from the…, 616
• Grief and desire can coexist in profound moments of reflection. #corroborates (0.75) — Lynch, Thomas, The undertaking-life studies from the…, 441