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The Great War and German Memory: Society, Politics and Psychological Trauma, 1914-1945

Online ISBN:
9781781385128
Print ISBN:
9780859898423
Publisher:
Liverpool University Press
Book

The Great War and German Memory: Society, Politics and Psychological Trauma, 1914-1945

Published:
3 January 2010
Online ISBN:
9781781385128
Print ISBN:
9780859898423
Publisher:
Liverpool University Press

Abstract

This book explores the impact of psychological trauma, or ‘war neurosis’ in imperial, Weimar and Nazi Germany from the perspective of ordinary mentally disabled veterans of the First World War. War neurosis was a key topic in debates over the memory of the war, masculinity, and social deviance. This volume uses previously unexplored first-person accounts in order to focus on traumatized German war veterans. It follows these vulnerable members of society as they emerged from the trenches and pursued lives in work, family and politics as they experienced marginalization as burdens on the nation and terrifying reminders of the effects of mass violence. Traumatized veterans actively fought doctors who tried to de-emphasize or stigmatize mental wounds. Within the fragmented landscape of interwar politics, these men also struggled to find acceptance as legitimate victims of war. After the Nazi seizure of power, these men faced intensified attacks as ‘enemies of the nation,’ and they protested their status as ‘social outsiders’. They claimed recognition as normal men with authentic and socially vital perspectives on the traumatic effects of modern war. This book situates veterans’ words and experiences in the contemporary field of trauma studies, revealing a previously hidden vein of protest against the Nazi institutions and official memory of war. It exposes the universal problems faced by societies coping with war and the politics of the veterans’ long-term care.

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