A relaxed rooting in one's own national identity is possible for very few Germans. However, behind the burden of being German lies more than just a collective malaise. Gabriele Baring, a family therapist and wife of the well-known historian Arnulf Baring, makes it clear how precarious repressed traumas from World War II still affect us seventy years after the end of the Nazi dictatorship. They contribute to feelings of hopelessness and despair, preventing us from solving both personal and societal problems. A natural, calm self-confidence and a positive national self-image cannot develop without confronting the past. Yet, after our culture has internalized so deeply that Germans should only be seen as perpetrators and not also as victims of the Nazi dictatorship, this presents a challenge.