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What was there?

The case of Nicole Kluemper and recovered memories.

– Shot on commission for Zeit Magazin

 
tauszik_DSC06932.jpg

All that we know of the world is memory. But humans quickly adjust some of their memories when faced with contradiction.

The fact that memories may not belong to us, that they can be altered or even created entirely by outside influences, is a painful realization.

At 17, Nicole Kluemper recovered memories of being abused by her mother – and sparked one of the fiercest debates in modern psychology.

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Nicole sees herself in the video, five years old, in a blue and white dress, kneeling in front of a wooden table and drawing on paper with pencils. She hears the psychologist ask, "How's your mother?"

"Mean."

"Why is she mean?"

"She hurts me."

"How does she hurt you?"

"She sticks her finger in my vagina. About that far." Little Nicole points to her finger.

"When did she do that?"

"Again and again when she bathes me."

After watching the video from the time, Nicole says she had no memory of it for years, but when the psychologist asked her about sexual abuse, it all came back. When she saw the videos of herself as a child, that was confirmation.

tauszik_DSC06965.jpg

"Do you remember any possible sexual abuse?" - "No. Wait... yes, I remember. My goodness. That's really weird..."

Nicole says she almost went insane for a while. "One day I was sure that my mother had abused me. The next day I wasn't, then the guilt came. And so on."

Her mother had hurt her, her father had saved her. Suddenly her father seemed to be the villain and her mother the victim. It felt like the ground was crumbling under her feet.

zeit_nicole.jpg
tauszik_DSC06736.jpg
 

What was there?

The case of Nicole Kluemper and recovered memories.

– Shot on commission for Zeit Magazin

 
tauszik_DSC06932.jpg

All that we know of the world is memory. But humans quickly adjust some of their memories when faced with contradiction.

The fact that memories may not belong to us, that they can be altered or even created entirely by outside influences, is a painful realization.

At 17, Nicole Kluemper recovered memories of being abused by her mother – and sparked one of the fiercest debates in modern psychology.

tauszik_DSC06809.jpg

Nicole sees herself in the video, five years old, in a blue and white dress, kneeling in front of a wooden table and drawing on paper with pencils. She hears the psychologist ask, "How's your mother?"

"Mean."

"Why is she mean?"

"She hurts me."

"How does she hurt you?"

"She sticks her finger in my vagina. About that far." Little Nicole points to her finger.

"When did she do that?"

"Again and again when she bathes me."

After watching the video from the time, Nicole says she had no memory of it for years, but when the psychologist asked her about sexual abuse, it all came back. When she saw the videos of herself as a child, that was confirmation.

tauszik_DSC06965.jpg

"Do you remember any possible sexual abuse?" - "No. Wait... yes, I remember. My goodness. That's really weird..."

Nicole says she almost went insane for a while. "One day I was sure that my mother had abused me. The next day I wasn't, then the guilt came. And so on."

Her mother had hurt her, her father had saved her. Suddenly her father seemed to be the villain and her mother the victim. It felt like the ground was crumbling under her feet.

zeit_nicole.jpg
 

What was there?

The case of Nicole Kluemper and recovered memories.

– Shot on commission for Zeit Magazin

 

All that we know of the world is memory. But humans quickly adjust some of their memories when faced with contradiction.

The fact that memories may not belong to us, that they can be altered or even created entirely by outside influences, is a painful realization.

At 17, Nicole Kluemper recovered memories of being abused by her mother – and sparked one of the fiercest debates in modern psychology.

Nicole sees herself in the video, five years old, in a blue and white dress, kneeling in front of a wooden table and drawing on paper with pencils. She hears the psychologist ask, "How's your mother?"

"Mean."

"Why is she mean?"

"She hurts me."

"How does she hurt you?"

"She sticks her finger in my vagina. About that far." Little Nicole points to her finger.

"When did she do that?"

"Again and again when she bathes me."

After watching the video from the time, Nicole says she had no memory of it for years, but when the psychologist asked her about sexual abuse, it all came back. When she saw the videos of herself as a child, that was confirmation.

"Do you remember any possible sexual abuse?" - "No. Wait... yes, I remember. My goodness. That's really weird..."

Nicole says she almost went insane for a while. "One day I was sure that my mother had abused me. The next day I wasn't, then the guilt came. And so on."

Her mother had hurt her, her father had saved her. Suddenly her father seemed to be the villain and her mother the victim. It felt like the ground was crumbling under her feet.

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