German memorials, motifs, and meanings : a cultural history in bronze, wood, and stone / Jennifer Hansen-Glucklich.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hansen-Glucklich, Jennifer, Author.

Series:

Public history in historical perspective

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Memorials--Germany.

Memorials.

Memorialization--Germany.

Memorialization.

Monuments--Germany.

Monuments.

Signs and symbols--Germany.

Signs and symbols.

National characteristics, German.

Ethnopsychology--Germany.

Ethnopsychology.

Physical Description:

xii, 360 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Other Title:

Cultural history in bronze, wood, and stone

Place of Publication:

Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, [2025]

Summary:

"German Memorials, Motifs, and Meanings offers a unique cultural history of German memorialization. The book focuses not on a single, isolated era, but rather on enduring memorial motifs-enchanted stones, magical trees, raised fists, stone circles, and similar evocative symbols derived from myth, folklore, Christianity, national iconography, and post-Holocaust imagery. It thus takes a long-duration perspective, sweeping across the centuries to explore abiding themes such as death, rebirth, and redemption; violence and reconciliation; and sacrifice, identity, and community. Along with a consideration of the historical and social circumstances of each memorial and its motifs, author Jennifer Hansen-Glucklich answers the questions of why and how these cultural markers survive the passage of time and how they endure amidst cultural, social, and political upheavals that include the rise and fall of empires, catastrophes of war and occupation, and genesis of new national identities. She uniquely focuses on lesser-known or unknown memorials found either in smaller German cities or tucked away in villages and hamlets. These memorials tell colorful, often ambiguous and problematic stories in contrast to the vaunted monuments of Germany's post-WWII era, such as Berlin's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Through vivid descriptions and deep analysis of the narratives and aesthetics of key monuments and motifs, Hansen-Glucklich details the remarkable story of German memorial culture from medieval times to the present day"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

The Original German Volk : Autochthony and Primal Origins

The German Volk as Waldvolk : The Mythic Forest in German Culture

Lebensmale (Living Memorials) : Nature's Monuments to Peace, Unification, the Departed, and the Extraordinary

From Giants' Grave, Stone Dances, and Devils' Stones to the Twenty-First Century : Findlinge in German Memorialization

To Perish on a Hill of Sacrifice : Meaningful Death, Self-Transcendence, and Violence

Für Herd und Heimat (For Hearth and Home) : Memorializing Sacrifice in the Fatherland

Bitte Gott, Mache die Seele von Pein Wieder Frei : Wayside Memorials of Admonishment, Remembrance, and Atonement

From Medieval Blood Feuds to Modern Genocide and Refugees : Memorials of Collective Atonement, Reconciliation, and Reorientation.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version Hansen-Glucklich, Jennifer German memorials, motifs, and meanings

ISBN:

9781625348821

1625348827

9781625348838

1625348835

OCLC:

1451660176

Publisher Number:

90102003985