The Great War and German Memory: Society, Politics and Psychological Trauma, 1914-1945

Under Weimar Germany and the Third Reich, the mentally disabled survivor of the trenches became a focus of debate between competing social and political groups, each attempting to construct their own versions of the national community and the memory of the war experience. Views on class, war, masculinity and social deviance were shaped and in some cases altered by the popularized debates involving these traumatized members of society. Through the tortured words of these men and women, Jason Crouthamel reveals a current of protest against prevailing institutions and official memory -- and especially the Nazi celebration of war as the cornerstone of the 'healthy' male psyche -- that has remained hidden until now. He shows how these 'social outsiders' attempted to reform healthcare and reconstruct notions of 'comradeship' and 'manliness' in this highly militarized society.