Peeling the Onion of Eelam’s Checkered Past
Ruben Nagesparan Chandrakumar, BS
In Gunter Grass’s autobiographic work Peeling the Onion, he examines his life and how it intertwined with the rise of the Nazi regime. In the book, Grass describes his experiences as a soldier for the Nazi party—a highly controversial confession in which he reflects upon the ways in which he contributed to the atrocities. He further talks about how his psychological revelations and the deep emotions he experienced were akin to “peeling back” the layers of an onion. The profound nature of his confession and reflection demonstrated the path the German nation had to undergo if the past was to be reconciled with a brighter future. While Grass focused on his personal experiences and the Nazi regime, the message of his book transcends the particularities of his situation and enters the realm of universality. The Nazis were formed out of a moment of German frailty in the international system—in the aftermath of World War I and the signing of the Versailles Treaty—that led to the abandonment of moral foundations. This degradation resulted in unforeseen, and arguably unprecedented, horror. In a similar manner, many peoples have utilized perceived wrongs and misfortunes of the past as a justification for current violations of conscience. Among these peoples, the Sri Lankan Sinhalese and the Eelam Tamils are both culpable.
The humiliation and poverty of losing the traditional Sinhalese and Tamil kingdoms to European colonial, imperial forces led to an increased sense of nationalism and a sentiment of aggrievement. This long list of grievances—while partially justified—bred resentment and, with the opportunity to utilize the other people as a scapegoat, created one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent times. The pattern of mistrust and clinging to the dark temptations of the human psyche has stirred across decades, making attempts at justice, reconciliation, and peace a tenuous proposition in the current climate.
In Peeling the Onion, Grass underwent what is referred to in Jungian terms as individuation. The brutal honesty he practiced in writing and reflecting facilitated a deep delve into the Shadow, forcing him to make his unconscious conscious. As Dr. Carl Jung described, “Until [one] makes the unconscious conscious, it will direct [one’s] life and [one] will call it fate.” Jung himself described Hitler as the mouthpiece for the collective unconscious of the German people, recognizing that the shared unconscious sentiments and desires were directing the Germans—often without their full awareness. Thus, the process of individuation which Grass underwent reflected the accompanying process of national self-realization, demonstrating that this process is a genuine pathway to truly reconciling with the darkness of the past. Without individuation, the unconscious continues to torment the people—flailing their behavior around like a ragdoll. Thus, patterns are repeated from failing to either acknowledge or learn the nature of evil. As Mark Twain described, “History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Without confession and self-reflection, the attempt at salvation becomes fruitless and an impossible task; reactive cycles of unwise behavior persist, albeit taking various forms.
The necessity of preventing this collapse and further descent has never been more urgent for Eelam than it is currently. The attempt at reconciliation, between the two nations and within Eelam’s own internal divides, is only successful with honesty—allowing a therapeutic catharsis. However, this honesty is harsh and possibly traumatizing given its gravity. Yet, only through honesty can the demons which grip the psyche of the nation be slain. The same pattern has been described by Dr. Jordan Peterson in his analysis of the Bible and Judeo-Christian theology—viewing the voluntary acceptance of suffering, as symbolized in the figure of Christ, and the pragmatism of exposure therapy, as symbolized in Moses’s building of the bronze snake to protect the Israelites from the serpents of the desert, as the framework through which the catastrophes of life can be transcended. This, in addition to the Christian perspectives on confession and atonement, are ideal manners in which the “onion” of our past, our memory, and our psyche can be peeled back.