This article examines two chapters from Martin Sabrow's 2009 edited volumeErinnerungsorte der DDR, one on antifascism and one on Buchenwald. These two case studies exemplify the complexities of the contemporary German memorial landscape. In particular, they thematize the remembrance of the Nazi past in the German Democratic Republic and how this GDR past has, in turn, been tendentiously remembered since unification. By examining the layering of memories in these two chapters, we argue that the theoretical models which often underpin contemporary German memory work, Sabrow's volume included, serve to obscure the role of the state as carrier of official memory. On the basis of this study, we show that concepts dominant in today's Germany promote a unified national narrative. In particular, terms such as the "culture of memory" (Erinnerungskultur) and cultural memory (kulturelles Gedächtnis) downplay conflicting, contentious and diverse memories relating to the GDR past. As such, the article provides a timely note of caution for memory studies and memory work, which increasingly applies these models to wider, non-German contexts.
Werner Mittenzwei's article of 1967, the title of which coined the term "Brecht-Lukács-Debatte", is widely considered as a milestone in the development of East German literary criticism towards an "emancipation" from party politics. By placing Mittenzwei's contribution in the wider context of discussions about the literature of the GDR, within the SED and the writers' union as well as at international conferences, this article attempts to trace the emergence of "Umfunktionierung" both as a key term and in its official approval by the party.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.