Rediscovering narratives of German resistance: Opposing the Nazi ‘Terror-State’

Teaching History after Identity‐Based Conflicts: The Rwanda Experience

“…In countries such as Germany, since the 1960s, and Spain, following the death of Franco, history textbooks have been modified and more nuanced views of the past have emerged in society as a whole. 3 However, in these cases history curricular reform has occurred in the context of changing societies where, given the benefit of time, the societies have struggled in multiple ways to come to terms with their past, for example, through trials, more open and democratic governance, engaging with international scholars (Wolfgram 2006), and responding to the increasing influence of international criminal justice.…”

The Moral Example of the German Resistance Against the Nazi Regime

“…During the course of the 12-year Nazi reign between 1933 and 1945, there were many Germans who ‘were far from passive or paralyzed by fear or propaganda’ (Wolfgram, 2006, p. 202). Tens of thousands of Germans of all walks of life actively opposed the Nazi regime, but what is known today as the German Resistance ( Widerstand ) was never one group of people who called themselves that— Widerstand is a post-war term which collectively includes the multitude of different acts by Germans which are considered to have been resistance acts against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime (Beer, 2018, p. 10; Dulles, 2000/1947, p. xiif).…”

“…Germans who had helped Jews in Berlin expressed their individual moral calculations reflecting virtue ethics. Ernst Golgowski said in an interview after the war: ‘I had carried out my resistance with full conviction’ (Wolfgram, 2006, p. 212f). Another surviving resister, Helene Jacobs, also said in an interview that her motivation for resisting Nazis was ‘[o]ut of the conviction, that this all had to fail’ (Wolfgram, 2006, p. 215).…”

Televising history

“…Ebbrecht's article provides an interesting parallel to that of Mark A. Wolfgram (2006), who recently suggested that the growth in representations of the Holocaust in German and other TV and film during the 1980s opened a 'narrative space' for those discussing their experiences of national socialism and led to a significant national reinterpretation of the Third Reich.…”