Public apologies combine the spheres of religion and politics. In order to successfully apologize and credibly ask for forgiveness from the victim, the former perpetrator (here: a state) needs to be aware of the theological and highly normative meta-frame in which apologies are embedded (metaphors such as sinner, confession, forgiveness). The paper takes the religious function of apologies seriously and will first introduce the theoretical background (speech act theory, linguistics) of state apologies (cf. Lübbe, Derrida) as well as the theological framework in order to investigate comparatively (process tracing analysis, time-series) Germany's public statements of regret as regards the Holocaust, in particular: Adenauer's apology in 1953, Brandt's famous gesture in Warsaw (1970), von Weizsäcker's speech (1985) and Rau's apology in the Israeli Knesset (2000). Comparing the diverse events, the essay demonstrates that apologies serve as an important instrument for reconciliation and an indicator of the perpetrator's (increasing) level of remorse.
