Shadows of Shame

Transgenerational Trauma among Carinthian Slovenes, Romani, Jews.

They had to leave their homes and land, not knowing where this nightmare would end. Millions of people did not survive the Nazi terror regime. The emotional scars inflicted on the survivors do not heal. The victims were wounded, and they passed these wounds down to their children and grandchildren. This event presents compelling and often shocking stories of victims from three generations on a journey from Austria to New York. Experts and artists describe the mechanisms of suppression, repression, and the transmission of emotional suffering. Harry Belafonte, Lily Brett, Peter Handke, Chief Rabbi Paul Chaim Eisenberg, Maja Haderlap, André Heller, and Dirk Sterman analyze in Shadows of Shame the suffering caused by the National Socialists among Carinthian Slovenes, Jews, and Romani. The event also explores the interconnectedness and lived solidarity between victim groups, from cross-group memory culture to the civil rights movement, proving to be an effective means against the shame of the victims. Harry Belafonte says, "If you oppress people long enough and feed them propaganda of inferiority, the oppressed begin to behave as if they are inferior."

Screening of the Shadows of Shame trailer, followed by a Q&A session about the book. The author, director, and journalist Sabina Zwitter-Grilc will answer questions about the transgenerational transmission of Nazi trauma. She will contextualize her experiences internationally.

The author and director, Sabina Zwitter-Grilc, born in 1967 in Carinthia/Koroška, attended the Slovenian Gymnasium in Klagenfurt/Celovec and studied journalism and Russian in Vienna. Since 1989, she has worked as an editor in the ORF Minority Department - "Heimat Fremde Heimat," the intercultural magazine of ORF. Her commitment is dedicated to the journalistic exploration of cultural diversity, the preservation of human rights, and the fight against racism and xenophobia. The documentary Shadows of Shame and reports by Sabina Zwitter-Grilc within the ORF Minority Department have received awards.