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Germans As Victims? The Discourse On The Vertriebene Diaspora, 1945-2005, Kevin Marc Larson
Germans As Victims? The Discourse On The Vertriebene Diaspora, 1945-2005, Kevin Marc Larson
History Theses
This thesis examines German memories of the Vertriebene, the twelve million Germans who fled their homeland in the face of Russian invasion in the closing days of World War II. I explore the acceptable limits of victim discourse and consider the validity of arguments about German victimization in light of the atrocities committed by Germans during the war. Three chapters discuss diaspora, discourse and commemoration. I relate diaspora historiography to the Vertriebene and then dissect the discourse of the Bund der Vertriebenen and its construction of a German "victim mythos" that undermined more acceptable claims for the recognition of Germans …