Abstract: There arose a "defensive" victim consciousness in the society of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) immediately after the World War Ⅱ under the background of the wartime experiences,the denazification by and the accusation of "collective guilt" from allied powers.In the 1960s and 1970s,fueled by the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials,the student movements and the policy of historical reflection adopted by Social Democratic Party (SPD),Germans began to find the causes for the sufferings in their own history and this victim consciousness became more and more "critical".In the 1980s,the conservative historical policy adopted by Christian Democrats Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) regarded the executors of the Nazi regime as its victims too.A "constructive" victim consciousness which aimed to shape the German self-identification emerged in the Bitburg event. Since the 1990s,especially since the beginning of the 21^st century,the German victim consciousness has experienced reviving and expanding,appearing in numerous publications and films.In the complaint memory display mode,this consciousness finally became "offensive",which implied a victim discourse competition between Germans and Jews.It's legitimate and significant for Germans to narrate their traumatic memory of the World War Ⅱ,so it is wrong to demonize it.What is important is to figure out how to discuss the memory in the public sphere and view it critically and how to Europeanise it by shucking off the restriction from the nation states.

Key words: FRG, National Socialism, victim consciousness, traumatic memory