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Die Romantisierung Der Wehrmacht Und Waffen-SS in Den USA. Die »Gurus« Und Ihr Einfluss Auf Die Amerikanische Öffentlichkeit

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Die Romantisierung Der Wehrmacht Und Waffen-SS in Den USA. Die »Gurus« Und Ihr Einfluss Auf Die Amerikanische Öffentlichkeit Die Romantisierung der Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS in den USA. Die »Gurus« und ihr Einfluss auf die amerikanische Öffentlichkeit Ronald Smelser und Edward J. Davies II* 2016 erschien bei University of Kentucky Press Rolf-Dieter Müllers Studie »Hitlers Wehrmacht 1935–1945« in englischer Übersetzung.1 Auf aktuellen Forschungsstand zeigte der renommierte Militärhistoriker hier nicht nur die Kriegsverbrechen von Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Krieg gegen die Sowjet- union auf, sondern auch die Mitverantwortung der Wehrmacht am Holocaust, für die deutsche Hungerpolitik gegen die sowjetische Zivilbevölkerung und für den Tod von mehr als drei Millionen sowjetischen Kriegsgefangenen. Eine derart umfassend kritische Veröffentlichung über die Wehrmacht wäre in den USA zur Zeit des Kalten Kriegs, in der eine regelrecht hysterische Furcht vor der Sowjetunion grassierte, wohl kaum vorstellbar gewesen. Wie u. a. im Beitrag von ESTHER-JULIA HOWELL gezeigt, waren es ins- besondere die Wehrmachtsgeneräle, denen es gelang, ein positives Bild der Wehrmacht in der amerikanischen Gesellschaft zu verankern. In ihren »Stu- dien« und Memoiren zeichneten sie das Bild persönlicher Distanz zum NS- Regime und dessen Verbrechen, während das deutsche Militär mit höchster Professionalität bis dato unbekannte militärische Leistungen vollbrachte. Die deutschen Ostfront-Veteranen behaupteten überdies, der Krieg, ohnehin von der Sowjetunion aufgezwungen, sei von Beginn an als antikommunistischer Kreuzzug angelegt gewesen. Dieses Narrativ fiel in den USA der 1950er und 1960er Jahren auf fruchtbaren Boden und ist als Grundfeste für die amerika- nische Vorstellung vom Zweiten Weltkrieg zu verstehen, das Axiom von der anständigen Wehrmacht (einschließlich Waffen-SS) »als Soldaten wie ande- re auch« wurde fest zementiert. Mehr noch, seit den 1950er Jahren ist in den USA eine regelrechte Faszination und Bewunderung für die Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS auszumachen. Die Rolle des Bösen war der Sowjetunion zugewie- sen, einseitige Berichte über die Brutalität und Gräueltaten der Roten Armee * Der vorliegende Beitrag beruht auf unserer Studie Smelser/Davies: The Myth of the Eastern Front: The Nazi-Soviet War in American Popular Culture. New York 2008. Sofern nicht anders angegeben, finden sich dort auch die entsprechenden und weiterführenden Quellenbelege. 1 Müller, Rolf-Dieter: Hitler´s Wehrmacht, 1935–1945. Lexington, Kentucky 2016, deutsch: ders.: Hitlers Wehrmacht 1935–1945. München 2012. © VERLAG FERDINAND SCHÖNINGH, 2019 | doi:10.30965/9783657787708_005 <UN> 64 Ronald Smelser und Edward J. Davies II an der deutschen und osteuropäischen Bevölkerung bei Ende des Krieges ver- schoben den historischen Kontext. Die Vorstellung einer überlegenen deut- schen Militärmaschinerie, von deutschen »super soldiers« und einem »genius of war«, der sie besselt, schuf dabei eine regelrechte Subkultur, die sich ganz auf die Erinnerungen deutscher Veteranen stützt. In diesem Kult um Wehr- macht und Waffen-SS mutierte der deutsch-sowjetische Krieg zu einer Folge von Heldentaten deutscher Soldaten. In dieser Subkultur wird die Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS ob ihrer vermeint- lichen militärischen Leistungen nicht nur bewundert, sondern regelrecht ro- mantisiert. Ihre Vertreter, am besten als Romancers charakterisiert, sind quasi die treuesten Anhänger dieser beinahe okkultischen Verehrung deutschen Soldatentums. Dabei haben sie sich ihr Bild von der Wehrmacht aus einer Fülle von auf sie eigens zugeschnittenen Büchern, Bildbänden, Illustrierten, Fachzeitschriften oder TV-Dokumentation geschaffen, die die ewig gleichen Botschaften transportieren. Romancers setzen sich dabei aus unterschiedlichen Gruppen zusammen. Sie erstrecken sich von regelrechten Militärenthusiasten, über harmlose »war gamer« (Brett- und Computerspieler usw.) und Modellbauer, obskure Sammler von Militaria und NS-Devotionalien, Re-enactors, die in deutschen Uniformen an Wochenenden Krieg spielen, bis hin zu Neo-Nazis. Ihnen ist die unkritische Begeisterung für das deutsche Militär in der NS-Zeit gemein. Dabei ist festzu- stellen, dass das Internet deutliche Auswirkungen auf die Gruppe der Roman- cers hat. Zum einen haben diverse Internetseiten, Chat-Räume, Foren, Blogs usw. ihre Zahl ansteigen lassen, zum anderen sind sie nunmehr weltweit ver- netzt. Die wohl wichtigste Internetseite der Romancers dürfte das 1999 gegrün- dete »Axis History Forum« mit über 65.000 Mitgliedern (Stand Juni 2018) sein, dass die einst bekanntere Seite »feldgrau.net« heute deutlich in den Schatten stellt. Mit den Möglichkeiten des Internets und den neuen sozialen Medien lassen sich Informationen, Diskussionen, Hinweise und Ankündigungen per einfachem Mausklick zwischen Tausenden austauschen. Die Romancers, auf englischsprachige Publikationen angewiesen, grei- fen mit besonderer Vorliebe auf Bücher bestimmter Autoren zurück, die seit Jahrzehnten an der Verklärung und Mystifizierung der Wehrmacht mitwirk- ten, diese vertieften, ja bisweilen mit- und erschrieben. Diese immer gleichen Autoren nehmen für Romancers die Rolle von Gurus ein. Die Bücher der Gu- rus bilden das Fundament für die Sichtweise der Romancers und liefern im Weiteren genau das, was diese dann auch lesen wollen – das Hohe Lied von Tapferkeit und Opfergang deutscher Soldaten an der Ostfront, genialen Mili- täroperationen und überlegener Militärtechnik. In diesen Büchern, die auch von den deutschen Ostfront-Veteranen geschätzt wurden, sind durchgängige <UN>.
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