Michael Naumann first had opted against the Berlin Holocaust Monument and (similar to the less known Eike Geisel) had interpreted the attempts as a self finding process of the German Bourgeoisie and a hidden conclusion (heimlicher Schlußstrich) of the Vergangenheitsbewältigung.
The focus on learning is much in the spirit of philosopher George Santayana's oft-quoted observation that "those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it."
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In the cultural sphere, the term Vergangenheitsbewältigung most frequently arises as the name of a movement in German literature, characterised by such authors as Günter Grass and Siegfried Lenz.
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When the seat of government was moved from Bonn to Berlin in 1999, an extensive "Holocaust memorial", designed by architect Peter Eisenman, was planned as part of the vast development of new official buildings in the district of Berlin-Mitte; it was opened on 10 May 2005.