Unforgotten Landscapes: Radio and the Reconstruction of Germany's European Mission in the East in the 1950s

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inge Marszolek
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
World War ◽  
Negotiation Processes ◽  
Auditory Representation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Western Germany ◽  
Radio Programs

Using the example of the audio series Unforgotten Landscapes (Unvergessene Landschaften) aired on Radio Bremen in 1955, this article addresses the important role that radio played in the complex border-negotiation processes in Germany after World War II. For many years, the agency of radio as an interlocutor and discursive tool in the process of renationalization has been more or less neglected in historical research. Indeed, visual and auditory representation of the Eastern borders was a highly contaminated field in Western Germany until the 1970s. Even today, the relations between Poland and Germany are still affected by these issues. By using the German notion of Heimat as an umbrella concept, this article shows how these radio programs tried to shift the understanding of existing territorial borders, as having resulted from World War II and the atrocities of Nazi Germany to being a part of the imaginary construction of Germany as a Kulturnation. The audio series depicted the history of theses landscapes as German since medieval times, with no human beings living there in the present, but also claiming that the voices of death still can be heard. Thus, the territories could be lost, but by anchoring these landscapes in cultural memory, they would still be part of Germanness. Moreover, the programs reinforce West Germany's European mission to connect the east with the west beyond continuities with the völkisch “blood-and-soil ideology” underlying the concept of Heimat.

BCLM: Forging Ahead: building a new urban history of the Black Country

Urban History ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Simon Briercliffe
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Public History ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
World War ◽  
Public Project ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historical Moment ◽  
Country Town

Abstract The recreation of urban historical space in museums is inevitably a complex, large-scale endeavour bridging the worlds of academic and public history. BCLM: Forging Ahead at the Black Country Living Museum is a £23m project recreating a typical Black Country town post-World War II. This article uses case-studies of three buildings – a Civic Restaurant, a record shop and a pub – to argue that urban-historical research methodology and community engagement can both create a vivid sense of the past, and challenge pervasive prejudices. It also argues that such a collaborative and public project reveals much about the urban and regional nature of industrial areas like the Black Country in this pivotal historical moment.

scholarly journals Cultural memory in Lithuanian periodical press during World War II

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 95-114
Author(s):  
Titas Krutulys
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Periodical Press ◽  
World War ◽  
Soviet Occupation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historical Periods

During World War II Lithuania was ruled by three completely different political regimes. In the first year Lithuania was authoritarian state ruled by group of nationalists, in 1940 Lithuania was occupied by Soviet Union and in 1941 State was occupied by Nazi Germany. All these political powers was undemocratic and propagated their ideologies. One of the most important aspect of every ideology is to suggest new concept of time. This change of perception of time could be seen in the change of cultural memory. Article try to analyze this change using the most popular Lithuanian periodical press of the period. This research analyzed main historical periods and the most popular themes represented in the main newspapers. Using theories of Anthony D. Smith and Raoul Girardet research showed what historical periods was seen positively and what negatively, what was main historical heroes and enemies; also how foreign history was represented in the periodical press. The quantitative content analysis showed that while representations of history in the so called independent Lithuania and in Lithuania occupied by Nazis was quite similar, historical representations during first Soviet occupation was unique. Qualitative content analysis showed that there was three very different paradigms of cultural memories, represented in periodical press. Lithuanian nationalist mostly tried to promote Lithuanian medieval times and especially Lithuanian dukes and historical capital Vilnius, also they tried to justify their politics creating myth of great welfare during their rule. They praised Soviet history, criticized Poland and poles, but wrote about most of the countries quite neutral. During Soviet occupation all Lithuanian history was harshly criticized and showed as negative times, this regime promoted only few Lithuanian heroes who died young or was known for their left wing politics. Main historical past represented in the newspapers was history of Soviet Union, other countries was ignored. Main enemies of Soviets was Lithuanian gentry, and Lithuanian rulers of the past. During Nazi occupation there was more Lithuanian national history than German history, but the main appreciable historical periods was Lithuanian prehistory and the 19th Century. Regime promoted history of Lithuanian culture and language, but tried to ignore Lithuanian state. Foreign history was mostly binary – propaganda criticized Soviet Union as well as Tsarist Russia, USA and United Kingdom, but appreciated history of Italy, Japan, Finland, Turkey, Spain etc. Main historical enemies were of course Bolsheviks and Jews.

Brain Science under the Swastika

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence A. Zeidman
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Mass Murder ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
World War ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Brain Science ◽  
Forced Sterilization ◽  
History Of

Eighty years ago the greatest mass murder of human beings of all time occurred in Nazi occupied Europe. This began with the mass extermination of patients with neurologic and psychiatric disorders that rendered them “useless eaters” to Hitler’s regime. The neuropsychiatric profession was systematically “cleansed” beginning in 1933, but racism and eugenics had infiltrated the specialty in the decades before that. With the installation of Nazi-principled neuroscientists, mass forced sterilization was enacted, which slowed down by the start of World War II and the advent of patient murder. But the murder of roughly 275,000 patients by the end of the war was not enough. The patients’ brains and neurologic body parts were stored and used in scientific publications both during and long after the war. Also, patients themselves were used in unethical ways for epilepsy and multiple sclerosis experiments. Relatively few neuroscientists resisted the Nazis, with some success in the occupied countries. Most neuroscientists involved in unethical actions continued their careers unscathed after the war. Few answered for their actions in a professional or criminal sense, and few repented. The legacy of such a depraved era in the history of neuroscience and medical ethics is that codes exist by which patients and research subjects are protected from harm. But this protection is possibly subject to political extremes and only by understanding the horrible past can our profession police itself. Individual neuroscientists can protect patients and colleagues if they are aware of the dangers of a utilitarian, unethical, and uncompassionate mindset.

The Region of Isolationism

1953 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 386-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph H. Smuckler
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
Hard Core ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
World War ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
History Of ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Regional Factors

Isolationism, a persistent refrain in the history of American foreign policy, has received its full share of recent investigation. These investigations have followed a number of approaches, varying from historical research into the interaction of isolationist and interventionist groups and individuals in the pre-World War II period to studies of the underlying causes of isolationist thinking. It is the purpose of this paper to consider one of the ambiguities that still remain; that is, the commonly accepted assumption that in recent decades the Midwest has been the hard core of isolationism.Midwestern isolationism is actually only one part of the larger question concerning the existence of a regional or geographic isolationist sentiment. On the untested assumption that isolationism is regional has rested the geographic explanation that isolationism is strongest in interior states because of the sense of insulation from international affairs that such location fosters. In this paper certain non-regional factors will be examined for their possible relationship to geographical centers of isolationist strength. Non-regional, socio-political factors might actually form the basis for several separate studies, and their consideration here is only intended to be suggestive of the further limitations these factors impose on a simple geographic explanation of isolationism.

scholarly journals Museum Culture of Remembrance: The Depiction of World War II in Japanese, German and Austrian Museums

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-192
Author(s):  
Marco Sostero
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
World War ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire Society ◽  
Museum Culture ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Country Specific

Abstract As one component of cultural memory, museums have the potential to co-form the remembrance of an entire society. They try to minimise the experience deficiency of their visitors and help them further to know and understand history in an interesting and vivid way. The present paper will show how and to what extent important museums in Japan, Germany and Austria try to shape the historical consciousness of their visitors. With the Yūshūkan in Tōkyō, the Heiwa Kinen Shiryōkan in Hiroshima, the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin and the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum in Vienna, four representative institutions will be taken as indicators of the national efforts to re-appraise the history of World War II. Analyses of the different exhibitions, together with an international comparison, will document the individual position of each museum as well as its political intention. In addition, legal and cultural backgrounds that can lead to a country-specific, ideologically biased museum-based depiction of World War II will also be taken into consideration.

scholarly journals MECHANIZATION OF SANITARY TRANSPORT AS A MAJOR FACTOR OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMBULANCE SERVICE IN THE SOVIET BELARUS (1919-1939)

2018 ◽  
pp. 78-83
Author(s):  
A. A. Kapliyev ◽  
M. P. Kapliyeva
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Ambulance Service ◽  
Emergency Medical Care ◽  
World War ◽  
History Of ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Second World

Objective : to study the main stages of development of sanitary transport and the impact of its mechanization on development of the ambulance service in the territory of the Soviet Belarus before the Second World War. Material and methods. The work has studied materials on history of medicine from the funds of state Belarusian and foreign archives. The analysis has been performed with the use of scientific and specialized historical research methods in accordance with the fundamental principles of historicism and objectivity. Results. The analysis has revealed the main factors that contributed to the development of the sanitary transport of the BSSR, as well as the main stages of its formation until the outbreak of the World War II. Conclusion. The most active modernization of the sanitary transport occurred in the second half of the 1930s, which precipitated the approach of professional emergency medical care to the population of the Soviet Belarus.

scholarly journals Essential problems of history of World War II from perspective of Russian and foreign neoliberals

2020 ◽  
Vol 210 ◽  
pp. 16022
Author(s):  
Vladimir Bruz ◽  
Sergey Vitinev ◽  
Anatoly Solodilov
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
World War ◽  
Eastern Front ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Objective ◽  
Key Aspects

The paper considers trending matters of the history of World War II based on views of contemporary Russian and foreign representatives of neoliberalism. The present topic is relevant since neoliberalism supporters attempt to reconsider the key events of World War II, which is especially noticeable just before the 75th anniversary of its end. Instead of serious historical research, numerous works of neoliberal authors contain highly ideologically charged representation of the events considered, which usually has anti-Russian trends. The present paper investigates neoliberal judgments and views of Russian and foreign authors on the reasons of World War II, its beginning, the Eastern Front (which in Russia is called the Great Patriotic War) and on the image of the Soviet army. These particular aspects are usually payed special attention and considered from the perspective of the new neoliberal reading. The aim of this paper is to perform the analysis of neoliberal views on some key aspects of World War II. The authors consider the rationale proposed by neoliberals and try to identify the grounds for reconsideration of a number of events of World War II. The key method of analysis performed was the dialectical method. Such specific methods as those of analysis, synthesis, comparative-historical and problematic-chronological methods, methods of actualization, of specific and logical analysis and some other ones were applied as well. As the result of the research conducted, the authors ascertained that in both Russia and foreign countries neoliberal views on important matters of World War II stem from ideology and political interests. In fact, there is the aim pursued to substantiate the responsibility and blame of the Soviet Union for starting the war, inhumanity of soviet regime and barbarity of the Soviet army. To attain this, in the context of informational war that is currently taking place all means are used from distortion of facts to fabrications and outright lies. Such methods are obviously unscientific and have nothing to do with historical research. The political objective of the ideological campaign run is to show Russia, which is the legal successor state of the Soviet Union, as the aggressive country that treats the free liberal world. The proceedings of the present paper may be relevant for historians, political analysts and theorists as well as for those who are engaged in World War II and particularly its Eastern Front.

scholarly journals The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Modern History of Human Rights

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengyu Duan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Universal Declaration ◽  
Global Dynamics ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Modern History ◽  
World War ◽  
History Of ◽  
Human Rights Standards

Beginning with the phrase “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) proclaims its purpose of establishing global human rights from the outset. As a common standard of achievement for all signatory nations, the UDHR constitutes an essential cornerstone in the modern history of human rights by drawing upon ancient to contemporary philosophies, responses to the heinous crimes of World War II, and various visions for future human rights standards. Despite diverging viewpoints from many of the drafting parties and states, the UDHR eventually transcended conflict to form the underpinnings of a moral compass for all of humankind.This essay first explores how the UDHR came into formation by reviewing the historical origins of human rights, global dynamics prior to the UDHR, the drafting process and key debates involved, and finally its achieved compromise and ultimate unanimous adoption. Then, the essay examines ways in which the UDHR has evolved, from both a legal and moral angle, since its adoption in the context of past achievements and current challenges. From a historical point of view, I argue that the UDHR is a living document that has and is expected to change as our societies continue to evolve.

„I nie tylko w powiastkach drzemie ta historia” – „Młyn Bałtaragisa” Kazysa Boruty: literatura jako medium pamięci

2021 ◽  
pp. 224-248
Author(s):  
Marcin Niemojewski
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
National Culture ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
World War ◽  
History Of ◽  
Post War ◽  
Outstanding Work

“Whitehorn’s Windmill” is considered to be the most outstanding work of KazysBoruta and one of the most important Lithuanian novels of the 20th century. Thebook was written during World War II when the Lithuanian state became theobject of aggression of two totalitarian powers and lost independence for a longtime, and it has grown from the writer’s anxiety about the fate of his country and the persistence of Lithuanian identity. Hence, Boruta reached for the richresources of the native folklore, to evoke the mythologized image of theLithuanian village, which in Lithuanian literature has the rank of chronotope,and at the same time, it is an important component of Lithuanian imaginationabout the sources of national culture. The story, the meaning and functions of the“Whitehorn’s Windmill,” its genesis and post-war fate, its literary and non-literarycontexts, as well as the history of its reception, allow us to interpret the workfrom the perspective of reflection on literature as a medium of cultural memory.

The Limits of Memory in Disavowed: Interference, Military Execution, and the Dishonored Dead

2021 ◽  
pp. 155541202110052
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Young
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Individual Identity ◽  
World War ◽  
The Public ◽  
History Of ◽  
Game Designer ◽  
The Relationship

In looking at the history of U.S. military execution during World War II, this article explores the relationship between memory and psychological interference in the browser-based game Disavowed (2021). As an interesting example of the palimpsestuous negotiation between individual identity, narrativity, and cultural memory, Disavowed structures itself through the misremembering of an actual historical encounter. In such a way, it reconstructs a false history of events misconstrued within the memory of the game designer, put into dissonance with historical documentation of what “really happened” – an execution witnessed by tens of thousands of soldiers, but that seems largely erased from the record. The result is an interplay between the memories of veteran Theodore “Ted” Eaker, the public awareness of Private Eddie Slovik’s execution, and the journey to piece together what is a fractured, unreliable and racially problematic history of the practice of military execution.

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