Abstract
The chapter contributes to a wider understanding of how ‘author collectives’ located within the Institute of Marxism-Leninism in the former East Germany wrote history as a legitimating narrative. The specific example here is how the biography of the chairman of the German Communist Party (KPD), Ernst Thälmann, was re-written to provide a model example of how the ‘socialist’ Germany was the heir to the anti-war and anti-imperialist traditions of the now divided nation. It also uses the files of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism to show how – like the debates over the nature of the November Revolution of 1918 – there remained tensions between Communists of differing political socialisations during the 1950s, thereby qualifying the seeming monolithic nature of regime’s political elite.
| Translated title of the contribution | Ernst Thälmann: The First World War as Experience, Memory and Legitimating Narrative |
|---|---|
| Original language | German |
| Title of host publication | ‘Das rote Erbe der Front’ |
| Subtitle of host publication | Der Erste Weltkrieg in der DDR |
| Place of Publication | Berlin |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 1 Apr 2018 |
| Event | The Red Inheritance of the Front - The First World War in the GDR - Frankfurt an der Oder, Frankfurt, Germany Duration: 1 Jun 2016 → 2 Jun 2016 |
Conference
| Conference | The Red Inheritance of the Front - The First World War in the GDR |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Germany |
| City | Frankfurt |
| Period | 1/06/16 → 2/06/16 |
Keywords
- German communism
- memory
- first world war
- ernst thälmann
- cold war