Many people—including public figures such as Nobel Laureate Günter Grass, former West German chancellor Helmut Schmidt, and trade union leader Claus Weselsky—choose not to read their Stasi files. How can this behavior be explained? And what are the implications for the collective approach to remembrance and transparency in post-dictatorial societies? A study by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the Technical University of Dresden provides insights into these questions.