“...Not by the German people, but in the name of the German people”. Adenauer and the Narrative of the Centre Ground

• Authors: Wild Volker , Ferdinand Jan
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The study reconstructs the development of the historical narrative that Konrad Adenauer communicated in his public statements about National Socialism and the role of the Germans in it. It can be expressed in the succinct formula that the misdeeds of the regime had been committed “not by the German people but in their name”. In these few words we see the kernel of a historical narrative that was the general consensus for a long time in West German politics. Up to now no explicit, comprehensive analysis of the development of Adenauer’s narrative has been forthcoming, one that involved an engagement with his key speeches covering the whole of the post-war period down to his death in 1967.

Keywords

EN

Adenauer; memory; coming to terms with the Nazi-past; guilt; Jews; Israel

• Publisher: Instytut Zachodni. Instytut Naukowo-Badawczy im. Zygmunta Wojciechowskiego w Poznaniu
• Journal: Przegląd Zachodni
• Year: 2019
• Issue: 3 (327)
• Pages: 221-248

Contributors

author

Wild Volker

• Gesellschaft für Denkmalforschung, Berlin

author

Ferdinand Jan

• Gesellschaft für Denkmalforschung, Berlin