Silencing historical trauma: The politics and psychology of memory and voice.

Abstract

Considerable research has been published linking traumatic historical events, silence, and diverse psychological consequences. Silence about historical trauma is common among survivors, often creating impediments to healing and recovery and serving as a medium through which the intergenerational effects of catastrophic experiences are transmitted. Understanding the origins of this silence is important for psychologists concerned with the experience of those who have survived major assaults. This article proposes a multifaceted model of the silence accompanying historical trauma, drawing on some of the first oral histories conducted with Korean Americans about personal and family experiences during the Korean War. It examines (1) the enforcing of silence among Korean Americans by the state, community, and family, and by unresolved individual trauma; (2) memories hidden in that silence; and (3) public remembering expressed through the arts as a means of breaking silences and fostering healing. (The Commissi...