On the Right Side of History: How Memories of World War Two Nourish Subversive Humanitarianism

Abstract

Studies on citizen-led support for migrants in Europe have paid increased attention to history and temporality. This article analyses Norwegian citizen humanitarians as agents of history who use the past to intervene in the present and extend themselves into the future. The analysis relies on long-term fieldwork, interviews and digital observations of ‘citizen humanitarians’ involved in informal aid and solidarity practices with illegalised migrants in Europe. We demonstrate how collective memories and family histories from World War II provide meaning and legitimacy to their humanitarian actions, including unlawful acts. The citizen humanitarians mobilise ‘post-holocaust morality’ to draw symbolic parallels between the persecution of Jews and present-day treatment of migrants in Europe and define good and evil in their time. Historical comparisons and identifications with rescuers and resistance movements further enable citizen humanitarians to position themselves on ‘the right side of history’. The article argues that our informants, who are ‘ordinary’ Norwegian citizens, partake in symbolic narrations of contemporary European border policies as a potential new cultural trauma. While highlighting some risks and limitations, we show that collective memories of war and rescue can nourish political critique and subversive humanitarianism. We also demonstrate the analytical value of attending to humanitarian actors’ historical consciousness and engagements with the past and future.