Till, Karen E. (1999) Staging the past: landscape designs, cultural identity and Erinnerungspolitik at Berlin’s Neue Wache. Cultural Geographies, 6 (3). pp. 251-283. ISSN 1474-4740

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Abstract

The controversies surrounding the re-establishment of a national memorial in Berlin, the Neue Wache, are examined to discuss the process of public memory. After unification, West German media continued to define public debate. ‘Established’ interest groups (politicians, victims, historical experts and citizen groups) were included in media discussions whereas others (East Germans, marginalized groups) were not. Criticisms about the function, form and ‘forgetfulness’ of the memorial reflected West German memory politics (Erinnerungspolitik) about the historical uses of: national institutions, religious (but not gendered) national symbols, and social categories of victim and perpetrator. In response to criticisms, a plaque was added to the memorial. Locally, activists created inclusive spaces to address critically the meaning of the National Socialist past in contemporary landscapes. The memorial is thus both a material object and a site of negotiation; it remains ‘entangled’ with the ongoing creation of historical narratives, official visions, local memories and cultural productions.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Staging the pas; landscape designs; cultural identity; Erinnerungspolitik; Berlin’s Neue Wache;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography
Item ID:	9031
Depositing User:	Dr. Karen Till
Date Deposited:	24 Nov 2017 14:10
Journal or Publication Title:	Cultural Geographies
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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