The Dresden Firebombing
Memory and the Politics of Commemorating Destruction
Published on 20. January 2014
Book
Hardback
384 pages
978-1-78076-358-3 (ISBN)
Description
The firebombing of Dresden marks the terrible apex of the European bombing war. In just over two days in February 1945, over 1,300 heavy bombers from the RAF and the USAAF dropped nearly 4,000 tonnes of explosives on Dresden's civilian centre.Since the end of World War II, both the death toll and the motivation for the attack have become fierce historical battlegrounds, as German feelings of victimhood complete with those of guilt and loss. The Dresden bombing was used by East Germany as a propaganda tool, and has been re-appropriated by the neo-Nazi far right. Meanwhile the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche- the city's sumptuous eighteenth-century church destroyed in the raid-became central to German identity, while in London, a statue of the Commander-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command, Sir Arthur Harris, has attracted protests. In this book, Tony Joel focuses on the historical battle to re-appropriate Dresden, and on how World War II continues to shape British and German identity today.
Reviews / Votes
Tony Joel's in-depth study does much to explain why the fire-bombing of Dresden has come to hold such iconic status. An original interpretation of changing and conflicting memory cultures, this work is also highly readable.!AZ Professor Mary Fulbrook, FBA, Professor of German History and Vice-Dean (Interdisciplinarity), University College London !(R)The literature on the politics of memory in Germany is immense, but only recent research has dedicated itself to the processes after the fall of the wall and German unification in 1990. Tony Joel!AZs study is one of the first to combine a broader view of German identity and memory through the prism of the Dresden Bombing. The author can be congratulated for this achievement. This is a highly informative, well written and perceptive work.!AZ Jost D' lffer, Professor of Modern History, University of KolnMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Laminated cover
Illustrations
17 bw integrated
Dimensions
Height: 223 mm
Width: 141 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
Weight
628 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78076-358-3 (9781780763583)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2014
I.B. Tauris
€37.49
Available for download
Person
Tony Joel is Associate Professor in History in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University, Australia. A former German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship holder, and a founding member of Deakin's Contemporary Histories Research Group, Tony's main research interests include the politics of war memory and commemoration and sports history.
Content
INTRODUCTION
The Destruction of Dresden and the Shifting Dynamics of German Victimisation Discourse
Dresden as paradigm of German victimisation and sacrifice
Writing about the Dresden bombing and its aftermath
Conceptual framework and key terms
A mythical taboo
Victimisation discourse in divided Germany
Bombing and victimisation discourse in reunified Germany
Application of concepts
CHAPTER 1
The Western Allies' Strategic Bombing Offensive and Dresden's Transformation from European Kulturstadt to Germany's Opferstadt
Build-up
Watershed
Escalation
Why is Dresden special? Or, why Dresden is special
Wartime reactions
Issues of interpretation: shaping and reflecting controversy
Conclusion
CHAPTER 2
The Fashioning of Dresden's Destruction into a Political Asset: 1946 to the Early 1980s
The Nuremberg interregnum
The 1950s
The 1960s
The 1970s and early 1980s
CHAPTER 3
Dresden's Last Milestone Gedenktag before the Fall of the Wall: 13 February 1985
West German mass-mediation of Dresden as Opferstadt
The party's Gro?kundgebung
The reopening of the Semperoper
The Frauenkirche ruins
Conclusion
CHAPTER 4
Dresden Memory Politics in the Schwebezeit: 1989-90
Kohl, the ruins, and "die Einheit der Nation"
Church over ruins?
Dresden's stateless Gedenktag: 13 February 1990
Conclusion
CHAPTER 5
A British Dimension to Dresden Commemorative Politics: 1992-2000
Homage to a hangman, or misunderstood memorialisation?
Dresden: the awkward but obligatory interlude
Britain responds to the Ruf: the Dresden Trust
The 1995 Gedenktag and a signal of intent
The 2000 Gedenktag and making good on a promise
Conclusion
CHAPTER 6
Dresden as a Memory Battleground: 13 February 2005
The Queen and Dresden: revisiting a theme, but not the city
Depicting Dresden as the "Bomben-Holocaust"
Renewed focus on longstanding controversies
Reconciliation remains a central plank
Making a statement in absentia
Mixed messages and the struggle over commemoration
Conclusion
CONCLUSION
Memory Work-in-Progress: Remembering the Past, Reflecting on the Present and Future
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Destruction of Dresden and the Shifting Dynamics of German Victimisation Discourse
Dresden as paradigm of German victimisation and sacrifice
Writing about the Dresden bombing and its aftermath
Conceptual framework and key terms
A mythical taboo
Victimisation discourse in divided Germany
Bombing and victimisation discourse in reunified Germany
Application of concepts
CHAPTER 1
The Western Allies' Strategic Bombing Offensive and Dresden's Transformation from European Kulturstadt to Germany's Opferstadt
Build-up
Watershed
Escalation
Why is Dresden special? Or, why Dresden is special
Wartime reactions
Issues of interpretation: shaping and reflecting controversy
Conclusion
CHAPTER 2
The Fashioning of Dresden's Destruction into a Political Asset: 1946 to the Early 1980s
The Nuremberg interregnum
The 1950s
The 1960s
The 1970s and early 1980s
CHAPTER 3
Dresden's Last Milestone Gedenktag before the Fall of the Wall: 13 February 1985
West German mass-mediation of Dresden as Opferstadt
The party's Gro?kundgebung
The reopening of the Semperoper
The Frauenkirche ruins
Conclusion
CHAPTER 4
Dresden Memory Politics in the Schwebezeit: 1989-90
Kohl, the ruins, and "die Einheit der Nation"
Church over ruins?
Dresden's stateless Gedenktag: 13 February 1990
Conclusion
CHAPTER 5
A British Dimension to Dresden Commemorative Politics: 1992-2000
Homage to a hangman, or misunderstood memorialisation?
Dresden: the awkward but obligatory interlude
Britain responds to the Ruf: the Dresden Trust
The 1995 Gedenktag and a signal of intent
The 2000 Gedenktag and making good on a promise
Conclusion
CHAPTER 6
Dresden as a Memory Battleground: 13 February 2005
The Queen and Dresden: revisiting a theme, but not the city
Depicting Dresden as the "Bomben-Holocaust"
Renewed focus on longstanding controversies
Reconciliation remains a central plank
Making a statement in absentia
Mixed messages and the struggle over commemoration
Conclusion
CONCLUSION
Memory Work-in-Progress: Remembering the Past, Reflecting on the Present and Future
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY