Language:
English
Year of publication:
1987
Titel der Quelle:
Jerusalem Quarterly
Angaben zur Quelle:
42 (1987) 3-18
Keywords:
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Influence
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Historiography
Abstract:
Surveys the "historians' debate" which is both a continuation of political polemics in West Germany and a reflection of the quest for national identity. Analyzes Hillgruber's book (see no. 708) and argues that his portrait of resistance on the Eastern front ignores the suffering caused to peoples under Nazi occupation and in the extermination camps. Although Hillgruber is not an apologist for Nazism, his ideas, like those of Broszat, divert attention from the unique and murderous political core of Nazism. Yet both contribute to scientific dialogue, unlike Ernst Nolte whose extreme anti-Soviet stance and revival of traditional nationalism place him in the revisionist camp. Other historians have pointed out the absurdities of his justification of Nazi crimes and the comparison between Soviet and Nazi atrocities. While Germans want to forget the Holocaust, it is increasingly central to Jewish identity, leading to clashes of historical memory such as in the Bitburg, Fassbinder, and Waldheim affairs.
Note:
Revised version of a previous article.
URL:
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