Local Expellee Monuments and the Contestation of German Postwar Memory
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To Our Dead: Local Expellee Monuments and the Contestation of German Postwar Memory by Jeffrey P. Luppes A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Germanic Languages and Literatures) in The University of Michigan 2010 Doctoral Committee: Professor Andrei S. Markovits, Chair Professor Geoff Eley Associate Professor Julia C. Hell Associate Professor Johannes von Moltke © Jeffrey P. Luppes 2010 To My Parents ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing a dissertation is a long, arduous, and often lonely exercise. Fortunately, I have had unbelievable support from many people. First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor and dissertation committee chair, Andrei S. Markovits. Andy has played the largest role in my development as a scholar. In fact, his seminal works on German politics, German history, collective memory, anti-Americanism, and sports influenced me intellectually even before I arrived in Ann Arbor. The opportunity to learn from and work with him was the main reason I wanted to attend the University of Michigan. The decision to come here has paid off immeasurably. Andy has always pushed me to do my best and has been a huge inspiration—both professionally and personally—from the start. His motivational skills and dedication to his students are unmatched. Twice, he gave me the opportunity to assist in the teaching of his very popular undergraduate course on sports and society. He was also always quick to provide recommendation letters and signatures for my many fellowship applications. Most importantly, Andy helped me rethink, re-work, and revise this dissertation at a crucial point. In so many regards, his steady guidance and unflagging enthusiasm have been instrumental in shaping my research and in the successful completion of this thesis. The other dissertation committee members from my home department, Julia Hell and Johannes von Moltke, also provided encouragement and offered helpful advice on conceptual matters in the early stages of my writing. Both were also especially quick to iii assist with administrative matters, e.g. letters of recommendation and grant applications, which undoubtedly contributed to the successful completion of my doctoral degree. I would also like to recognize the efforts of Geoff Eley, who offered his assistance and took me on at a late date. Though not a committee member, Lars Rensmann was a very careful and critical proofreader who generously assisted me. His insights improved my project’s design and helped me craft a more powerful argument. I owe Jennifer M. Kapczynski of Washington University in St. Louis a debt of gratitude as well for kindly sharing materials I used in Chapter Ten. In addition, I would like to recognize the members of the German Studies Colloquium during my time at the University of Michigan. Fellow graduate students probed my arguments and commented on various drafts. They accompanied the various stages of my studies from preliminary exams to prospectus and beyond. In particular, I would like to thank Solveig Heinz for editing a full chapter draft. I am also especially grateful for the observations and suggestions from the colloquium’s instructors—Julia Hell, Kerstin Barndt, Silke Weineck, and Vanessa Agnew. Silke’s and Vanessa’s comments on separate chapter drafts made each stronger. Furthermore, my brother John Luppes, as well as my colleague and trusted friend Seth Howes, performed the Herculean task of proofreading my entire dissertation. I would like to thank John for being a stickler for grammar and clarity, but even more for being an intellectual inspiration, a loving brother, and a great friend. Getting to know you, Seth, has made my time at Michigan all the more pleasant and memorable. Thanks for all your help with this project, for your friendship, and for house- and babysitting. iv While in Ann Arbor, I was fortunate to receive a Rackham Pre-Doctoral Fellowship and a Rackham One-Term Grant, both of which allowed me to concentrate fully on research and writing and unquestionably accelerated the completion of my graduate studies. Completing this dissertation would have been impossible without the financial support from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which awarded me two separate research grants with which I was able to travel to Germany and visit scores of local monuments. While on those research trips, I had the unique opportunity to meet with dozens of functionaries from expellee organizations who shared with me their personal histories of the expulsion. They patiently answered my questions and gave me their time. Many of them transported me to their area’s local monuments and provided indispensable information and unpublished materials. Several of them invited me into their homes. I would like to thank all of them for their generosity and for being so receptive to my requests. Their assistance was crucial to the success of my research. Heinrich Kucharczyk of the BdV national headquarters in Bonn deserves special recognition for granting me access to the organization’s monument archive and for permitting my use of its photographs. I would also like to acknowledge the support of several local archives in the Federal Republic of Germany, but especially in North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden- Württemberg, for sending me materials at little or no cost during and after my research trips. Moreover, Margarete Polok at the library of the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Haus in Düsseldorf and Renate Deutschländer at the Haus der Heimat library in Stuttgart were very kind in providing me with materials and places to work beyond normal business hours during my stays in Germany. The scholars Hans Hesse, Elke Purpus, Hans-Werner v Retterath, and Stephan Scholz graciously shared research materials and offered stimulating academic exchanges. The valuable and much appreciated contributions of everyone listed here have made my thesis vastly better. Any remaining errors, oversights, and other shortcomings are my own. I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, David and Nancy Luppes, whose endless support and constant encouragement have always sustained me. I could not and would not have completed this thesis, however, without the love and unwavering support of my wife Halrun, and my son Espen. Halrun has been my first reader and most trusted critic. I thank her not only for editing early drafts, but also for her helping make this dissertation more compelling and visually stimulating. More importantly, however, I appreciated her tolerance of my long absences from home for research, as well as of the piles of papers and stacks of books that have cluttered our house the past few years. Thank you also for putting up with the many mood swings that went along with writing this dissertation. You accompanied me every step of this journey and have brought joy to my life from the moment we met. Words cannot express my gratitude for all that you do for me. Lastly, I would like to thank my son, Espen, who has been my biggest motivator. He was born during the early stages of my writing and though working at home with a small child was sometimes difficult, his laughter always provided a desperately needed distraction. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication…………………………………………………………………………….......ii Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………….iii List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………ix List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………………xi Abstract………………………………………………………………………………...xiii Introduction……………………………………………………………………..………..1 PART ONE—LITERATURE REVIEW AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT Chapter One—Monuments and Narrating the Past.....................................................22 Chapter Two—From Consensus to Contestation: The Place of Flight and Expulsion in Postwar Commemoration.……………………………………………………...…...60 PART TWO—THE MONUMENTS Organizational Overview……………………………………………………………….122 A. LOSS OF HEIMAT AND TERRITORIAL CLAIMS Context & Background: The Invocation of Heimat…...……………………………….124 Chapter Three—Großdeutschland and the Right to the Heimat………………….132 Chapter Four—Cold War Conflation………..………………………………………152 Chapter Five—Germans as Kulturträger: Accomplishments of Settlement……...171 Chapter Six—Unseren Toten in der Heimat: Cemeteries and Territorial Claims..192 Conclusion—Loss of Heimat and Territorial Claims…………………………………..207 B. AESTHETICS OF COLLECTIVE INNOCENCE Context & Background: Expulsion and Exculpation………………………………...…212 Chapter Seven—Christian Symbolism & Collective Innocence……………………217 Chapter Eight—Mutterliebe: The Allegory of the Female Form………………….235 Chapter Nine—Subsuming Victims………………………………………………….259 Conclusion—Aesthetics of Collective Innocence……………...………………………276 vii PART THREE—COMMEMORATIVE CEREMONIES Chapter Ten—Local Expellee Monuments as Loci of Remembrance: Tag der Heimat and the Commemorative Ceremonies of the Expellees………..…………..279 Conclusion……………………....……………………………………………………..325 Appendix……………………………………………………………………………….334 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………...362 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Düsseldorf….................................................................................................................23 2 Düsseldorf (close-up)....................................................................................................23 3 Lippstadt......................................................................................................................125 4 Lengerich.....................................................................................................................138 5 Schelklingen.................................................................................................................143