The Uncanny: How Cultural Trauma Trumps Reason in German Israeli Scientific Collaborations

Abstract: Twenty years after the Holocaust, Germany and Israel signed contracts for scientific collaborations. Fifty years later, those collaborations have become an asset for science in both countries. Notwithstanding those win-win collaborations, the trauma of the Holocaust still casts a long shadow over them, creating uncanny experiences and fear. This paper reports findings from interviews with 125 Israeli scientists who have collaborated with German colleagues. It employs Freud’s analysis of the uncanny, an experience which mixes cozy familiarity with a sense of eeriness, confronting subjects with unconscious, repressed personal impulses or memories. The paper extends Freud’s analyses by showing that uncanny experiences may result from a cultural – rather than a personal – trauma. Specifically, the results show that while Israeli scientists enjoy their collaborations with German colleagues, they occasionally experience fear and unease in their presence. Some identify Nazi mnemonics, oth

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: The Uncanny: How Cultural Trauma Trumps Reason in German Israeli Scientific Collaborations ; volume:45 ; number:1 ; year:2020 ; pages:87-102 ; Veröffentlichungsversion ; begutachtet (peer reviewed) ; Historical social research ; 45, Heft 1 (2020), 87-102

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Psychologie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Yair, Gad

Further information

• DOI: /10.12759/hsr.45.2020.1.87-102
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2021101213022558576385
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:20 AM CEST