An Apology for Public Apologies?: Transitional Justice and Respect in Germany

Public apologies of former perpetrators for their wrongdoing are commonly taken to be an expression of respect for victims. Public apologies are said to involve recognition that the victim deserves redress in the form of an acknowledgment of the wrong done to him or her. This paper seeks to qualify this view by focusing on the case of the public exposure of informers for the infamous secret police or Stasi under the German Democratic Republic. It argues that public apologies may in fact be a way of circumventing the possibility of promoting respect for victims.