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Internationalized commemoration of World War II in Russia and Germany
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Ceremonies of commemoration that have taken place in 2004 and 2005 show that the internationalization of remembrance of World War II is in full swing. However, this is happening in the framework of national cultures of memory. Russian and German reactions to the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy demonstrated that internationalized commemoration has a variety of implications. In Germany, the traditional paradigm according to which Nazi crimes are the negative point of reference for all contemporary politics is no longer taken for granted. In Russia, concern is being expressed that the internationalization of remembrance could detract from the huge scale of Soviet sacrifices and the significance of the Soviet contribution to victory over Nazi Germany.
(Osteuropa 4-6/2005, pp. 74–87)
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