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Abstract

This dissertation seeks to investigate the impact the War of Annihilation: Crimes of the German Wehrmacht 1941 to 1944 exhibition had on the German public’s perception of the Wehrmacht’s actions in the Second World War. In order to examine what impact this exhibition had, it demonstrates the process and development of Vergangenheitsbewältigung (Germans coming to terms with their Nazi past). This is as well as the development of the Wehrmacht’s memory within the German public prior to the exhibition and how the German public came to believe in the Wehrmacht’s innocence. It then focuses on how the Wehrmacht exhibition proved Wehrmacht involvement in crimes and the German public’s reaction to it. In order to evaluate whether this exhibition influenced the German public’s memory of the Wehrmacht, key pieces of media portrayal of the Wehrmacht following the exhibition have been chosen. By incorporating later representations of the Wehrmacht in different media, this dissertation contrasts to key literature on the Wehrmacht which was produced in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. It is argued that the Wehrmacht exhibition had a great impact on the German public’s memory of the Wehrmacht. It encouraged greater interest into the topic, opened conversation between generations and allowed Germans to move on from the Wehrmacht criminal past. This has allowed contemporary Germany to be able to deploy and commemorate its new military forces. This is set within the larger debate of history as a discipline and the way it is communicated, this is as well as whether history has a role in shaping society.

Course: History - BA (Hons) - C1087

Date Deposited: 2021-03-10

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13668.html