Politik mit der Erinnerung : Gedächtnisorte im Streit um die Nationalsozialistische Vergangenheit

Discusses commemoration of the Nazi period, especially of racial and political persecution, in both Germanies. East Germany saw itself as the victorious successor of the anti-fascist resistance and played down the Jewish Holocaust, for which it disclaimed responsibility. West Germany assumed responsibility for the past, but for many years tried to erase it. Only since the 1970s has Germany gradually begun to cultivate memory, in memorial sites such as the concentration camps, in historical museums and documentation centers, and in ceremonies on anniversaries such as the 9th of November. All these commemorations are surrounded by ideological controversy - on the need to remember or forget, on the proper form of remembrance (e.g. the danger of aestheticization), and on the inclusiveness of commemoration (one memorial to all the victims or a larger number). Includes bibliographical references (pages 360-380) and index. 387 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm