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For more than half a century, discourses on the Nazi past have powerfully shaped German social and cultural policy. Specifically, an institutional determination not to forget has expressed a "duty of remembrance" through commemorative activities and educational curricula. But as the horrors of the Third Reich retreat ever further from living memory, what do new generations of Germans actually think about this past? Combining observation, interviews, and archival research, this book provides a rich survey of the perspectives and experiences of German adolescents from diverse backgrounds, revealing the extent to which social, economic, and cultural factors have conditioned how they view representations of Germany's complex history.
List of contents
List of Figures and Tables
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction Chapter 1. Education in the Service of Democracy
Chapter 2. Talking about the Nazi Past in Class and Succeeding at School
Chapter 3. Gender, Family and the Nazi Past(s)
Chapter 4. The Nazi Past as an Everyday Resource for Adolescents
Chapter 5. The Social and Cultural Limits to Appropriations of the Nazi Past
Chapter 6. Peer-group Dynamics and Playful Uses of the Past
Conclusion: From Memory to Appropriation(s)
Appendix 1: The German School System
Appendix 2: Structure of Interviews with Students
Appendix 3: Summary Table of Teachers and List of Teachers Interviewed
Appendix 4: List of Students Interviewed
References
Index
About the author
Alexandra Oeser is currently Professor of Sociology at Paris Nanterre University. Her most recent publication is Collectif du 9 août: Quand ils ont fermé l’usine (2017).
Summary
What do ordinary Germans think of their country's Nazi past? Do young Germans just want to "move on?" Combining observation, interviews, and archival work, the studies conducted in this book explore these questions to reveal the complexity of history and how young Germans view Nazism's place in contemporary society.
