Helmut Kohl's Quest for Normality His Representation of the German Nation and Himself |
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| Author:
| Wicke, Christian |
| Series title: | Making Sense of History Ser. |
| ISBN: | 978-1-78238-573-8 |
| Publication Date: | Feb 2015 |
| Publisher: | Berghahn Books, Incorporated
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| Book Format: | Hardback |
| List Price: | USD $135.00 |
Book Description:
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During his political career, Helmut Kohl used his own life story to promote a normalization of German nationalism and to overcome the stigma of the Nazi period. In the context of the cold war and the memory of the fascist past, he was able to exploit the combination of his religious, generational, regional, and educational (he has a PhD in History) experiences by connecting nationalist ideas to particular biographical narratives. Kohl presented himself as the embodiment of...
More Description
During his political career, Helmut Kohl used his own life story to promote a normalization of German nationalism and to overcome the stigma of the Nazi period. In the context of the cold war and the memory of the fascist past, he was able to exploit the combination of his religious, generational, regional, and educational (he has a PhD in History) experiences by connecting nationalist ideas to particular biographical narratives. Kohl presented himself as the embodiment of "normality": a de-radicalized German nationalism which was intended to eclipse any anti-Western and post-national peculiarities. This book takes a biographical approach to the study of nationalism by examining its manifestation in Helmut Kohl and the way he historicized Germany's past.