Authors:
- Focuses on three major areas of memory policy in relation to the victims of the SBZ/GDR
- Interrogates the limitations of state-mandated memorializations and policies that address aspects of the national past
- Seeks to understand the formulation of memory policy in the context of systems theory
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Cultural Heritage and Conflict (PSCHC)
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Table of contents (6 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
About this book
The post-war Federal Republic of Germany faced the task of addressing the plight of the victims of state socialism under the Soviet occupation of eastern Germany and in the German Democratic Republic, many of whom fled to the west. These victims were not passive objects of the West German state’s policy, but organized themselves into associations that fought for recognition of their contribution to the fight against communism. After German unification, the task of commemorating and compensating these victims continued under entirely new political circumstances, yet also in the context of global trends in memory politics and transitional justice that give priority to addressing the fate of victims of non-democratic regimes.
Constructions of Victimhood: Remembering the Victims of State Socialism in Germany draws on the constructivist systems theory of Niklas Luhmann to analyze the role of victims organizations, the political system, and historians and heritage professionals in the struggle over the memory of suffering under state socialism, from the Cold War to the present day. The book argues that the identity and social role of victims has undergone a process of constant renegotiation in this period, offering an innovative theoretical framework for understanding how restorative measures are formulated to address the situation of victims. As such, it offers not only insights into a neglected aspect of post-war German history, but also contributes to the ongoing academic debate about the role of victims in process of transitional justice and the politics of memory.
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Authors and Affiliations
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School of Modern Languages, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
David Clarke
About the author
David Clarke is Professor of Modern German Studies at Cardiff University, UK.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Constructions of Victimhood
Book Subtitle: Remembering the Victims of State Socialism in Germany
Authors: David Clarke
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in Cultural Heritage and Conflict
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04804-4
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG, part of Springer Nature 2019
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-04803-7Published: 14 January 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-04804-4Published: 26 December 2018
Series ISSN: 2634-6419
Series E-ISSN: 2634-6427
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: VIII, 315
Number of Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations
Topics: Cultural Heritage, European Culture, Memory Studies, War Crimes, European Politics