Men of Reconstruction – The Reconstruction of Men: Returning POWs in East and West Germany, 1945–1955

In the book chapter "Men of Reconstruction--The Reconstruction of Men: Returning POWs in East and West Germany, 1945-1955" in the edited volume Home/Front: The Military, War, and Gender in Twentieth-Century Germany, the author Frank Biess discusses how the protracted release of POWs influenced the construction of masculinity in both Germanies. Remasculinization became an integral part of reconstruction projects and national development. In the West, reintegration took the form of reestablishing patriarchal rule through the family, while the East revived the military tradition with anti-fascist ideology. The essay provides a nice starting point for comparison with the far more voluminous work regarding World War I, as Biess concludes that both Germanies were eager to move ahead instead of brooding about the past.