Using the Past in the Nazi Successor States from 1945 to the Present

Abstract

This article examines the political uses of memory in the three successor states of the Third Reich. The focus is on how political elites offered stylized histories of the Nazi past in the service of broader political goals, both domestic and international. After reviewing key junctures in the politics of memory, the authors discuss contemporary debates about history, particularly in Germany, the country often viewed as the model for coming to terms with a traumatic past. Despite the massive and growing literature about confronting the Nazi past, the authors note that there are few studies that link ideas about history to broader political outcomes and suggest that this represents a fertile area for future research. The article concludes by considering whether German memory politics will serve as a model for European memory.

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