Kathmandu— Across the globe, from Israel and Russia to Germany and Japan, a dangerous trend is taking hold: “victimhood nationalism.” This phenomenon involves nations constructing narratives of perpetual victimhood to legitimize current chauvinism and assert political power. Historian Lim Jie-hyun’s book, *Victimhood Nationalism*, offers an original analysis of this growing force, drawing on case studies from Poland, Germany, Israel, Korea, and Japan to reveal how historical events are selectively remembered – or forgotten – to serve contemporary national interests.

Deconstructing Victimhood Narratives

Lim Jie-hyun defines victimhood nationalism as “a narrative template to grant moral superiority and political legitimacy to a present nation.” This process involves both de-historicization, stripping historical facts of their complexity, and over-historicization, reshaping them to fit nationalist agendas. The result is a collective memory that prioritizes national identity and power over genuine reflection on the past. He argues this often leads to the objectification and dehumanization of those who were actually harmed by previous injustices.

Japan’s ‘Screen Memory’

The book highlights Japan's postwar memory culture, which frames its fifteen years of military rule as an aberration from a generally successful modernization process. This narrative often attributes responsibility for wartime atrocities to vague entities like “militarism” or “the system,” while portraying ordinary Japanese citizens as victims themselves. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have become a central element of this national identity, functioning as what Lim calls a “screen memory” that obscures Japan’s war crimes against its Asian neighbors. This emphasis on victimhood allows for the promotion of ‘absolute pacifism’ without acknowledging accountability for past aggression.

Germany's Shifting Remembrance

In Germany, there was an initial effort to confront the atrocities of World War II, but this gradually shifted towards broader discussions about the universal causes of war and human violence. After the Cold War, a narrative emerged emphasizing German suffering as victims of expulsion from Central and Eastern Europe, sometimes equating it with the Holocaust itself. This framing, based on a dichotomy between “Nazi criminals” and “innocent Germans,” reinforced national identity in unified Germany. A 1995 survey revealed that approximately 40% of respondents over sixty-four years old considered the postwar expulsion of Germans to be a crime against humanity comparable to the Holocaust.

The Globalization of Holocaust Memory

Lim observes how the memory of the Holocaust has become a template for nations seeking to cast their own histories of suffering in a similar light. This involves recasting diverse experiences – from nuclear bombardment and colonialism to Stalinism – as comparable to the Holocaust, transforming national memories into collective narratives of victimhood. However, this project often comes at the expense of acknowledging or downplaying the suffering of actual victims of these nations, such as Japan’s military sex slaves or ethnic minorities persecuted under Nazi rule. The phrase “Never again” has been adopted globally, strengthening national identity while potentially obscuring broader historical injustices.

From Victimhood to Violence

The timeline of Lim's book ends in the early twenty-first century, but the trend of victimhood nationalism appears to be intensifying. Recent examples include Russia and Israel, where narratives of historical suffering have been invoked to justify violence against others. Benjamin Netanyahu has explicitly linked actions in Palestine with Holocaust memory, while Vladimir Putin portrays Russia as a historical victim of Western aggression. There is concern that Germany and Japan may also utilize their own victimhood narratives to justify rearmament in response to perceived threats from China and Russia.

As victimhood nationalism continues to evolve, it presents a significant challenge for the Left, which must remain vigilant against narratives cloaked in universal language while upholding the rights of oppressed groups and acknowledging the devastating legacies of imperialism and colonialism.

(With inputs from Jacobin)

Originally published on abcnews.com.np.