This is the short guide that I wrote for the purpose of introducing undergraduatestudents to interpreting sites of memory, a frequent assignment in my classes. It isnot overly theoretical, based more on Loewen (see below) than on Nora, Koselleck et al.
This is a fascinating book about American memorials and historical sites. I havedrawn on it heavily for my own work. His introductory chapters on the societal rolesof memorials and how to interpret memorials are easy to follow. The rest of thebook is full of examples of good and, mostly, bad (inaccurate, misleading) memorialsfrom all 50 states. For help online, see"Ten Questions To Ask At A Hisotric Site at the author's webpage.
Books And Important Articles On Cultures Of Memory
My recommendations are limited to some of literature that I am familiar with.It obviously represents only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of titles which have beenwritten over the past 20 years. For even more scholarly references in English,see thelist of important references at H-Memory.
Assmann, Aleida: Der lange Schatten der Vergangenheit. Erinnerungskultur undGeschichtspolitik. C.H. Beck: Muenchen, 2006.
This book traces the pathways and connections between individual and public ("official")memory and commemoration. A sophisticated theoretical understanding of the topic,built on a broad exposition of the entire spectrum of issues involved in historicalmemory, is followed with chapters on concrete examples from 20th century memorialculture.
Confino, Alon: "Collective Memory and Cultural History: Problems of Method,"The American Historical Review 102:5 (December 1997), 13861403.
Erll, Astrid: Kollektives Gedaechnis und Erinnerungskulturen. J. B. Metzler:Stuttgart und Weimar, 2004.
This is an invaluable handbook for collective memory and cultures of memory:historiography, definitions of terms, major works and theories, etc.
Etienne, Francois; Schulze, Hagen (Eds.): Deutsche Erinnerungsorte. Eine Auswahl.C.H. Beck: Muenchen, 2005.
This is the one-volume version of the original three-volume collection of Germansites of memory based on the ideas of Pierre Nora and his three volumes of French"sites." Like in the French model, these "sites" include places, people, events andabstractions - anything from in this caseGerman history which has recurringand often disputed meaning and contribute to defining German identity, collectivememory and history. Examples from the chapters include Auschwitz, the FrankfurtPaulskirche, the Reformation, the Wall, Willy Brandt's kneeling gesture inWarsaw, themass expulsion of Germans from the eastern territories in 1945,theReichstag and "Made in Germany".A German-language review of volume I of the original three-volume series is available at h-net.
Hawlbachs, Maurice: On Collective Memory. Chicago and London: The Universityof Chicago Press, 1992.
Koselleck, Reinhart; Jeismann, Michael (Eds.): Der politische Totenkult.Kriegerdenkmäler in der Moderne. Wilhelm Frank Verlag: Munich, 1994.
This is already a classical edited volume. It has several articles on the 19thcentury, individual and comparative studies on France, Germany, the USA and the SovietUnion. Of particular interest to American readers will be the article on differencesbetween Union and Confederate memorials in Baltimore by Michael Siedenhans and thearticle on the Vietnam memorial by Robin Wagner-Pacifici and Barry Schwarz.
Lurz, Meinhold: Kriegerdenkmäler in Deutschland. 6 volumes. Esprint-Verlag-Heidelberg,1984-1987.
This impressive collection analysis of German war memorials from the early 19thcentury up to the postwar period offers general analyses of the memorials aswell as individual case studies from each period. Vol. 1: pre-1870; Vol. 2: German warsof unification; Vol. 3: World War One; Vol. 4: Weimar Republic; Vol. 5: the Nazi period;Vol. 6: the Federal Republic of Germany.
Mills, Nicolaus: Their Last Battle. The fight for the national World War II memorial.Basic Books: New York, 2004.
A straightforward recounting of the background and controversies which preceded theconstruction of theWorld War Two Memorial, includingexamples of previous controversies for memorials on the national Mall.
Mosse, George L.: Fallen Soldiers. Reshaping the Memory of the World Wars. Oxford University Press, 1991.
Focusing on Germany, the author draws on monuments and cemetery design as well as traces in popularcultural items to to argue that the veresion of war created by intelligentvolunteers and the "cult of the Fallen Soldier" both contributed added to the risein nationalism feelings after the war.
Nora, Pierre: "Between Memory and History: Les Lieux de Mémoire,"Representations 26 (Spring, 1989), 724.
Piehler, G. Kurt: Remembering War the American Way. Smithsonian Institution Press:Washington and London, 1995.
This is a great overview of the history of American remembrance. He shows that the statehas rarely succeeded in imposing its version of memorial culture on the population andthat Vienam was not America's only military memorial controversy.
Reichel, Peter: Politik mit der Erinnerung. Gedächnisorte im Streit um dienationalsozialistische Vergangenheit. Carl Hanser Verlag: München/Wien, 1995.
This is an impressive overview of the controversies surrounding the Nazi past inGermany after the war. After an introductory chapter on the history of modern culturesof memory and the role of politics in eastern and western Germany, the focus is onplaces - such as the Reich party congressgrounds at Nürnberg and other ruins of Nazi architecture and former concentrationcamps. But there is also an illuminating chapter on anniversaries and the various waysthat German politicians and others have chosen to mark important dates from theNazi past. It suffers only from being ten years old, so it does not cover thecontroversies that have arisen since 1995, such as the Wehrmacht debate following theHamburg exhibition on crimes of the German army or the controversy surrounding thebookHitler's Willing Executioners by Daniel Goldhagen.
Ulrich, B.; Ziemann, B.: Krieg im Frieden. Die umkämpfte Erinnerung anden Ersten Weltkrieg.
This is a collection of documents that follows therhetorical battles fought in Germany after World War One. It shows how Germansociety polarized over the interpretation of 1914-1918 and the political consequences.
Winter, Jay: Sites of Memory,Sites of Mourning. The Great War in EuropeanCultural Memory. Cambridge University Press, 1995.
This is the book from which this website has borrowed its title. Winter borrowed theterm "Sites of Memory" from Pierre Nora who coined the term in Frenchlieux dememoire. But Winter's book is not about historical memory in general, but focuseson European strategies for coming to grips with catastrophe in the aftermath ofWorld War One. There is a chapter on war memorials, but the coverage is broader,going into film, literature, art and religion and other themes as well.Online review available at h-net.org.
Winter, Jay and Sivan, Emmanuel (eds.): War and Remembrance in theTwentieth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Cela uz neatkaribu. Brivibas cinu pieminikli. [The Road to Independence. Liberty andBattle Monuments], Riga, 1997.
A systematic collection of 99 markers in Latvia withphotos and brief descriptions including artist, date of construction, date ofdestruction (for those markers destroyed by the Soviets) and reconstruction.
Coombs, Rose E.B.: Before Endevours Fade. Battle of Britain PrintsInternational, 1994.
I have only seen the 1970s version of this book. It has manypictures of monuments and battlefield sites, recommended routes for visiting thesites, and other information about the landscape of World War One as it looked at thetime the book was written. She revised the book repeatedly until her death in 1991.
Lismanis, Janis: 1915-1920. Kauju un krituso karaviru pieminai. Pirma pasaules karaun Latvijas Atbrivosanas cinu pieminas vietas [1915-1920. Memorials to battles andfallen soldiers. Memorial places of the First World War and the Latvian LiberationWar], Riga, 1999.
A very detailed collection of hundreds of monuments and othermarkers. It includes those for Latvians and foreign soldiers in Latvia as well asmarkers for Latvians in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Russia. The photos are few,small and black and white, but the descriptions include the full text of themarkers, even the names of the fallen. Includes a preface in Russian, German andEnglish.
This is a fascinating book about American memorials and historical sites. Afterhis introductory chapters on the societal roles of memorials and how to interpretmemorials, the book is full of examples of good and, mostly, bad (inaccurate,misleading) memorials from all 50 states.
Strautmanis, I.; Asaris, G.: Padomju Latvijas memorialie ansambli. [Memorialensembles of Soviet Latvia] Zinatne: Riga, 1986.
This is a collection ofspecifically Soviet memorials, mostly on the Great Patriotic War, but also includingthe concentration camp memorial at Salaspils, most of which were built in the 1970sand 1980s. Black and white photos, detailed descriptions of the markers.
Willmann, Georg: Kriegsgräber in Europa : ein Gedenkbuch. München:Bertelsmann, 1980.
This is a selection of only a handful of the thousands of cemeteriesand memorials in Europe. But it includes large, color photos of the sites. It is aGedenkbuch, a memorial book, so it is less systematic and analytical thanmost of the others listed here. Includes sites dedicated to several nationalities.
This is obviously only a tiny fraction of the available print literature. These aretitles I use in my teaching.
Becker, Annette; Adoin-Rouzeau, Stephane; Temerson, Catherine: 14-18 Understanding the Great War. Hill and Wang, 2002.
I use this as a textbook in myWar and Society class.Focusing on France but with examples from several western countries, the authorsshed light on the seldom-seen civilian side of the Great War including themes such ascollective mourning and the experience of occupation. The great hatreds createdby war are also explored.
Best, Geoffrey: War and Society in Revolutionary Europe 1770-1870. McGill-Queen's University Press: London, 1982/1988.
Another textbook from myWar and Society course. It is not steeped inrecent methodology, but does give a good overview of how societal developments interactedwith wars and conflicts over time.
Craig, Gordon A.: The Politics of the Prussian Army 1640-1945. Oxford University Press: London, 1955.
I use this classic in myGerman Military Historyclass.It is an excellent overview of the role played by the Prussian militaryestablishment in German history. Craig's book offers deep insight into why and howGermany developed differently than other countries.
Fussell, Paul: Wartime. Understanding the Behavior in the Second World War. Oxford University Press: New York/Oxford, 1989.
Another book from myWar and Society course,this is likely to seem cynical to those used to "Greatest Generation"-type literatureon the United States in the Second World War. Subjects include the effects on societyof mass-military training, soldiers' attitudes about the war as expressed in theirin-official songs, wartime propaganda, racism and the effect of war on language.
Hirschfeld, Gerhard; Krumeich, Gerd; Langewiesche, Dieter; Ullmann, Hans-Peter (Eds.):Kriegserfahrungen. Studien zur Sozial- und Mentalitätsgeschichte des Ersten Weltkriegs.Klartext Verlag: Essen, 1997
This is an edited volume of articles on various aspects of wartime experience in Europe,primarily in Germany. The sections on the home front, the war and economic life andimages of the society and enemies (Feindbilder) offer a wide variety ofperspectives and levels of analysis.
Smith, Leonard V.; Audoin-Rouzeau, Stephane; Becker, Annette: France and the Great War 1914-1918. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2003.
A textbook from myFrench Military History class,this book covers the whole of the war with a strong emphasis on societal andpolitical developments behind the front lines. The national disaster of mass death,the internal divisions of French society, the crisis of 1917 and ambiguity ofthe final French victory are among the themes.
This site has few photos, but gives the exact address and brief description of hundredsof American memorials sorted by state and city. A great site to consult if you wantto hunt for a submission to make tothis site.
a greatcollection of links to memorials on different subjects including the world wars,Vietnam, Korea, Hiroshima, and even Nanking. Just scroll down about half a screen and thelist begins.
This page has all kinds of stuff about World War One including books to order.Scroll down a short bit to find his links to war memorials pages including pageson both descriptions and analysis.
omaha-beach.org has photos and information aboutvarious aspects of World War Two in the west, including historical andcurrent photos of military cemeteries in the Normandy area.
911memorials.org has a list of over 100911 memorials with photos. There is a also a main page with a blog about the controversiessurrounding some of the memorials and the discussion about what to do with the "groundzero" site.
www.deutsche-ehrenmale.dehas photos of hundreds of German war memorials and monuments from all over Germany.Most are shown only with a single photograph and without commentary, however.
Kriegerdenkmal.com is a similarproject to www.deutsche-ehrenmale.de above.
http://www.denkmalprojekt.org is a Germansite which is systematically trying to list all the names on all German war memorials. Thereis one photo per memorial and all text in html for access through search engines.
