These lines are taken from a speech given by Theodor Adorno before a German audience in 1959, yet they aptly capture the hopes and anxieties associated with the contemporary pursuit of transitional justice. Adorno's speech was entitled, “What does ‘Coming to Terms with the Past’ Mean?” He outlined two responses to that question. Adorno began by warning that the idea of “coming to terms with the past” had become little more than a slogan. What appeared to be a preoccupation with addressing Germany's Nazi past was an elaborate form of denial, he argued. “Coming to terms with the past” had been equated with the goal of “mastering the past” or “turning the page” by wiping the past from memory. Against this emphasis on mastery, Adorno called for a process of “working through” the past. In making this distinction, he insisted that the project of addressing past injustices ought to be understood as an ongoing process – one that requires serious labor, and one that is never fully completed.

Adorno's complaint stands as a challenge to those who hold that too much attention to past wrongs is bound to open a Pandora's Box of destructive demands for redress or vengeance.