Commemoration in Germany: Rediscovering history

Abstract

In Germany a common narrative of the First World War could never be established. In the post-1918 period, explanations of Germany's defeat were highly contested between the political factions of the Weimar Republic. The subsequent Nazi tyranny, the Second World War and the Holocaust came – and continue – to overshadow any other event in German history. During the Cold War, the First World War was largely a forgotten conflict. In recent years, the federal government has remained hesitant about embracing the centenary, but countless exhibitions, seminars, books and other media productions have brought this aspect of history back to public attention from late 2013, and with it has come a renewed public debate on war guilt.

在德国是不会有共同的一战叙事的。1918年以后，对德国战败的解释成为魏玛共和国不同的政治派别的战场。接下来的纳粹独裁、二战以及大屠杀，则让德国历史上的任何其他事件黯然失色。在冷战期间，一战差不多被遗忘了。近些年联邦政府一直对庆祝百年的事犹犹豫豫。不过2013年底以来，无数的展览、研讨会、图书以及其他媒体产品使得这段历史成为公众关注的对象，关于战争的罪孽问题又起纷争。

Keywords:

• centenary
• cultures of commemoration
• First World War
• Germany
• remembrance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 This was a rather tasteless reference to the Nazi-era Ritterkreuz class of the Iron Cross.

2 Founded in 1919 as an institution to care for the German war graves, comparable to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

3 Recently, some societal groups and local politicians have even called for a removal of war memorials, arguing that by remembering soldiers – especially through statues whose appearance could be read as heroic – war is being positively depicted (e.g., Wagner 2014).

4 Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany, backed by the federal and state governments.

5 Other specific exhibitions at the DHM were ‘Die letzten Tage der Menschheit – Bilder des Ersten Weltkriegs’(The last days of mankind – images of the First World War) in 1994 and ‘Der Weltkrieg 1914–1918 – Ereignis und Erinnerung’ (The World War – incident and remembrance) in 2004.

6 The German Historical Museum is a foundation registered by the state. The board of trustees consists of representatives of the federal government, the federal parliament and the governments of the federal states.

7 The Bundeswehr Military History Museum is the historical museum of the German Armed Forces and thus funded by the defence budget.

8 ‘Fastnacht der Hölle’ (Hell's carnival, quoting by Ernst Jünger), Stuttgart, 4 April 2014 to 1 March 2015.

9 ‘1914 … schrecklich kriegerische Zeiten’ (1914 … terrible bellicose times), Brunswick, 1 August 2014 to 1 March 2015.

10 ‘1914 – Mitten in Europa’ (1914 – In the middle of Europe), Essen, 30 April to 6 October 2014.

11 ‘Mein Kamerad – die Diva’, Schwules Museum, Berlin, 5 September to 30 November 2014.

12 ‘Krieg und Kleider’, Kunstbibliothek Berlin, 25 September 2014 to 18 January 2015.

13 ‘Gold gab ich für Eisen’, Bode–Museum Berlin, 21 March 2014 to 30 March 2015.

14 ‘Netze des Krieges 1914–18’, Museum für Kommunikation, Berlin, 9 May to 17 August 2014.

15 ‘Krieg und Propaganda 14/18’, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, 20 June to 2 November 2014.