Bewältigung des Scheiterns

Overview & Synopsis

In the 20th century, Germany experienced two dictatorships, the Third Reich and the GDR, which continue to shape the Federal Republic to this day. Nevertheless, the post-war perspective of the leading actors in both regimes, in contrast to that of the victims, generals, writers or scientists, has received little attention in historical research. For the first time, Hans-Ulrich Danner evaluates all the autobiographies of the most important party officials of the NSDAP and SED in a comparative study. The processing strategies, the criticism of the system and ideology, the explanations for the failure and the classification of the authors' own role are examined. The summary analyzes of each memoirist and the cross-system typology are the main result of the work. Both similarities and differences in how the Nazi and SED authors came to terms with the past are shown. The book is important for science precisely because of the historical and political relevance of the previously unexplored topic. The interested reader in particular is offered a new perspective on the German experience of dictatorship through the focus on the regime's officials.