Vergessenen

Vergessenen is a German term derived from the verb vergessen, meaning to forget. In ordinary use it appears as an inflected form of the adjective vergessenen/vergessene and, when capitalized as Vergessenen, can function as a noun referring to a specific group of people: the forgotten ones. For example, die vergessenen Städte or die vergessenen Kinder illustrate the adjective use, while Die Vergessenen may denote a collective identified by neglect in memory or public discourse.

In cultural and scholarly contexts, die Vergessenen is used to describe groups whose histories or experiences have been omitted or undervalued in official narratives. The concept sits within discussions of Erinnerungskultur (memory culture) and the ongoing tension between what is remembered and what is forgotten. It is a flexible label that can apply to marginalized populations, victims of neglect, refugees, or minority communities whose stories receive limited attention.

The term is widely used across literature, film, journalism, and academic writing to evoke social marginalization or to critique selective memory. Because vergessenen can function as either an adjective phrase or a nominalized noun, capitalization and syntactic role determine its interpretation in a sentence.

See also: Vergessen, Erinnerung, Erinnerungskultur.