Fallen Soldiers: Reshaping the Memory of the World Wars PDF
Preview Fallen Soldiers: Reshaping the Memory of the World Wars
Fallen Soldiers FALLEN SOLDIERS Reshaping the Memory of the World Wars GEORGE L MÜSSE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS New York Oxford Oxford University Press Oxford New York Toronto Delhi Bombay Calcutta Madras Karachi Petaling Jaya Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo Nairobi Dar es Salaam Cape Town Melbourne Auckland and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 1990 by Oxford University Press, Inc. First published in 1990 by Oxford University Press, Inc., 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016-4314 First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 1991 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mosse, George L. (George Lachmann), 1918- Fallen Soldiers: reshaping the memory of the World Wars George L. Mosse. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-19-506247-7 ISBN 0-19-507139-5 (PBK.) 1. War—Psychological aspects. 2. War and civilization. 3. Europe Civilization 20th century. — — 4. Europe—History, Military—20th century. 5. World War, 1914-1918 Europe—Psychological aspects. — 6. War memorials—Europe. I. Title. U22.3.M63 1990 303.6'6'09409041-dc20 89-36202 CIP 10 9 8 7 6 Printed in the United States of America Acknowledgments This book grew out of my concern with modem nationalism and its consequences. It seeks to provide a better understanding of, and hopefully new insights into, the cheapening of human life and the mass deaths which have degraded so much of our own century. I owe a great debt to Howard Fertig who, as on so many other occasions, made me refine, focus, and at times rethink my argu ments. The constant dialogue with Dr. J. M. Winter of Pembroke College, Cambridge University, has been especially rewarding over the years. My colleague Stanley Payne of the University of Wis consin read the manuscript and gave me the benefit of his great learning. I have made extensive use of Meinhold Lurze’s descrip tion of German war monuments for which I am grateful, and I await with anticipation the complete inventory of such monuments which Professor Reinhard Kosseleck of the University of Bielefeld is undertaking. I first started to address the Myth of the War Ex perience in 1977 when I gave the Charles Phelps Taft Memorial Lectures at the University of Cincinnati. As a fellow in the History of Ideas Unit, Research School of Social Science, Australian Na tional University in 1979,1 was able to make use of the excellent First World War collection at the Australian War Memorial. A fellowship at the Institute of Advanced Studies of the Hebrew University in 1986 gave new dimensions to my thinking about the conseqeunces and iconography of war. A book which has been so long in the making accumulates debts of gratitude to many libraries and their staff. I want to single out as especially helpful the libraries of Columbia University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as the Hebrew National vi Acknowledgments and University Library, the Imperial War Museum, the Biblio thèque Nationale, and the Bayrische Staatsbibliothek. Some of the material used in this book first appeared in the Journal of Contemporary History; Chapter 4 was first published in a somewhat changed form in Germany in the Age of Total War, ed. Volker R. Berghahn and Martin Kitchen (Croom Helm, Lon don, 1981); and Chapter 8 is a much expanded version of an arti cle printed in Demokratie und Diktatur, ed. Manfred Funke et al. (Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf, 1987). Some of what I have to say about volunteers in war appeared first in Religion, Ideology and Nationalism in Europe and America (The Historical Society of Israel and the Zalman Shazar Center for Jewish History, Jeru salem, 1986). Finally, Lois Corcoran showed exemplary patience in typing and retyping the manuscript. I dedicate this book to David Berkoff who has given me the greatest and most committed support over the years. Madison, Wise. G. L. M. June 1989 Contents 1. Introduction: A Different Kind of War, 3 PART I. THE FOUNDATIONS 2. Volunteers in War, IS 3. Building the Myth: Tangible Symbols of Death, 34 PART II. THE FIRST WORLD WAR 4. Youth and the War Experience, S3 5. The Cult of the Fallen Soldier, 70 6. The Appropriation of Nature, 107 7. The Process of Trivialization, 126 PART III. THE POSTWAR AGE 8. The Brutalization of German Politics, 1S9 9. Building on War, 182 10. The Second World War, the Myth, and the Postwar Generation, 201 Notes, 227 Index, 2S2 Fallen Soldiers
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