Mémoire(s) – Erinnerungen

This article examines how certain key concepts of memory cultures are transferred from one language to another and what semantic shifts may then take place. The aim is to investigate the functional equivalences to be found in German for the terms souvenir / mémoire / commémoration / lieux de mémoire in the contemporary German memory culture, which is paradigmatically shaped by the fall of the Wall and the process of German unification. Starting from the observation that the concept of Erinnerungen expresses both its processual character as well as its plurality, adequate „retranslations“ into French are sought. The plea is for a methodology that makes it possible to scientifically accompany the transition of memories – of the GDR and the years 1989 and 1990 – from communicative to cultural memory.