Minute of silence

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Minute of silence at a grave, shown here by men in Gailtal costume in Gailtal in Carinthia , Austria (2009)

A minute of silence or minute of silence is a period of time between a few seconds and several minutes in which people pause in their everyday routines and activities and quietly commemorate one or more dead people together . The minute's silence is a custom that has developed in dealing with the death of people and is now one of the "most important rituals of commemorating the dead and disasters ".

history

origin

Two-minute break in 1922 at the Bathurst Memorial in Bathurst in what was then the British colony of Gambia

The minute's silence is a custom that developed around the First World War . The information about where and on what occasion it was practiced for the first time vary, sometimes contradicting one another. Some references are made to France and some to the United Kingdom . The first case of a moment of silence is known from Portugal in 1912 , when the members of the parliament of the first republic spent ten minutes commemorating a deceased Brazilian politician “who was one of the first to recognize the republic”. In Great Britain and the rest of the Commonwealth of Nations since 1919, a two-minute break has been held annually on November 11 at 11:00 a.m. to commemorate the end of the First World War in 1918. It goes back to a similar pause that has been practiced in Cape Town , South Africa since 1918 .

The ritual of the minute's silence that is widespread today may have originated in France . The "first official minute of silence" is said to have taken place there on November 11, 1919 on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Compiègne armistice to commemorate the war dead. According to another source, this memorial ritual was first held in France in 1922.

Occasions and forms of expression

The form of communication of the minute's silence is one of the most common forms of presentation in commemorative rituals "in modern societies" and is mainly used in official rituals. It serves as a public expression of grief and compassion for the victims and survivors of serious accidents, terrorism or crimes (e.g. natural disasters , serious traffic accidents, terrorist attacks or genocide ). In addition, the ritual is common in the death of prominent figures. Some proclaimed minutes of silence also have the character of a demonstration , especially in the case of commemoration of the victims of violent crimes.

The minute's silence to express solidarity can also be used by people who are not personally close to the victims and bereaved and therefore cannot express their condolences in the usual way . But it can also serve to internalize what happened. Likewise, non-religious people can exercise this form of sympathy instead of prayer. High politicians or representatives of associations usually ask to observe a minute's silence. The public life that pauses during the minute's silence is intended to symbolize the turning point caused by the accident or death.

For example, when an outstanding athlete dies, a minute's silence is observed in the stadium, or when a statesman dies, there is a minute's silence in parliament .

The ritual of the minute's silence can also often be found at the death of a member of an association, club or group, being performed at the beginning of a subsequent group meeting or a subsequent annual general meeting, etc.

The “death of a person and the time of mourning” are “a decisive experience”, especially for children and young people, in which their feelings “can get mixed up [...] and many things [get into sway]”, according to EC speaker Thomas Kretzschmar. A hold can be conveyed through rituals such as the minute's silence: For a while, “at the beginning of the group hour [...] a minute's silence can be kept for the deceased friend”.

procedure

Official minutes of silence are often preceded by a call by high-ranking politicians or association representatives, in which both the public and certain addressees such as "authorities, administrations, schools, institutions and companies" are asked to participate. When commemorating in a small group, the call is usually made by the oldest or the highest social rank in the group. You get up and stand still together until the silence is broken by the caller in order to end it. Afterwards, everyday chores are resumed.

As a rule, a minute's silence is observed at the beginning of assemblies and meetings, sometimes when there are full participants or after the arrival of a high-ranking guest. Depending on the occasion and location of the minute's silence, the bereaved of victims or survivors sometimes also take part. The caller usually introduces the minute's silence with a few words of remembrance, sometimes a short commemorative speech is given as an introduction.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Minute of silence  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Minute of silence  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thomas Fuchs : On the phenomenology of silence . In: Karl-Heinz Lembeck , Karl Mertens and Ernst-Wolfgang Orth on behalf of the DGPF (ed.): Phenomenological research . Meiner, 2004, ISSN  0342-8117 , p. 151–167, 152 , JSTOR : 24360642 : "The silent handshake on the grave signals compassion, the minute's silence signals common commemoration."
  2. ^ A b c Anne-Catherine Simon: The minute of silence: When the Parisians invented a ritual . In: The press . November 14, 2017 ( full text on diepresse.com [accessed September 26, 2018]).
  3. ↑ CNEWS: Source est l'origine de la minute de silence? November 4, 2016, accessed September 26, 2018 (French).
  4. ^ Mathias Berek: Collective memory and the social construction of reality. A theory of cultures of remembrance . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-447-05921-3 , pp. 177 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  5. ↑ See e.g. B .: Academy of the Arts of the World : Two minutes of standstill. In: archive.academycologne.org. 2013, accessed September 26, 2018 .
  6. ↑ a b c Thomas Kretzschmar: tears, grief, glimmers of hope. Talking to children about death . Born-Verlag, Kassel 2010, ISBN 978-3-87092-491-1 , p. 64 .
  7. ↑ See e.g. For example: State Chancellery Rhineland-Palatinate : Call for a minute's silence. In: rlp.de. November 16, 2015, accessed on September 26, 2018 (call for a minute's silence to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attacks on November 13, 2015 in Paris ).
  8. ↑ See e.g. B .: (daniel): Introduction of a minute of silence for the victims of terror during the plenary session of 23 November (2015). In: lambertz.be. November 26, 2015, accessed on September 27, 2018 ( speech by Parliament President Karl-Heinz Lambertz at the beginning of a plenary session of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community of the Kingdom of Belgium , to initiate a minute's silence on the occasion of the terrorist attacks on November 13, 2015 in Paris ).