De laatste lichting

by Malte Herwig, Liesbeth van Nes (Translator)

Aan het einde van de Tweede Wereldoorlog werden de jongeren uit 1926 en 1927 onder de wapenen geroepen om als `Hitlers laatste helden de onontkoombare nederlaag van nazi-Duitsland nog wat uit te stellen. Ze waren nog bijna kinderen toen ze als kanonnenvlees naar het front gingen, gedreven door jeugdig enthousiasme voor Hitler en het nationaalsocialisme. Heel wat toonaangevende figuren uit de latere Bondsrepubliek werden in hun jonge jaren bovendien lid van de NSDAP. Ze hebben het verzwegen of vergeten, ontkend of verdrongen, veelal tot op de dag van vandaag. Na 1945 onderscheidden ze zich als geëngageerde democraten en drukten als vooraanstaande politici, kunstenaars en wetenschappers hun stempel op de jonge Bondsrepubliek.


In De laatste lichting schrijft Malte Herwig invoelend en genuanceerd over een generatie die verstrikt raakte tussen twee werelden en het verleden verdrong, en maakt hij ons duidelijk hoe pijnlijk de verhouding van de Duitsers ten opzichte van de nazitijd nog altijd is.


Herwig heeft het ledenregister van de partij, dat in 1945 op wonderbaarlijke wijze werd gered, doorgewerkt en is daarbij allerlei bekende namen tegengekomen. Met veel van die laatste ooggetuigen heeft hij persoonlijk gesproken. Herwig vertelt de geschiedenis van hen die schuldeloos-schuldig verstrikt zaten in het naziverleden, met hoofdrollen voor belangrijke persoonlijkheden als Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Günter Grass, Martin Walser en anderen.



Malte Herwig (1972) studeerde literatuurwetenschap, geschiedenis en politicologie in Mainz, Harvard en Oxford, waar hij in 2002 promoveerde. Hij was redacteur van Der Spiegel en schrijft nu voor de Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Germany

257 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 13, 2013

Reviews

[Hans Luiten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Araik had dit boek voor me gevonden, en een goede keuze! Hoewel de auteur soms wel wat veel herhaalt behandelt hij een fascinerende vraag: hoe kon het dat de generatie Flakhelpers (jongeren die in 1945 16-20 jaar oud waren) vaak zo ontzettend overtuigd de nieuwe Duitse democratie steunden en tegelijk een deel van hun NSDAP-verleden wisten te verdedigen, zoals bijvoorbeeld Günter Grass die -als moreel geweten van Duitsland - pas heel laat bekende lid te zijn geweest van de Waffen-SS

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Post-war Lies, by Malte Herwig, is a challenging book to read and review, because it would be so easy to fall into the trap of sitting in moral judgement about Germany’s Nazi past. You might also ask, what’s it got to do with us, in Australia in the 21st century, if Germany is still exploring its mea culpa issues?

Well, I would argue that a thoughtful reader makes for a thoughtful citizen, and Germany’s quest for truth is relevant to many societies. While the Holocaust is unique in human history, the acquiescence of ordinary citizens in morally culpable crimes against humanity might be more common than we like to admit. Herwig in his concluding chapter quotes the German author Martin Walser saying that if concepts of ‘state’, ‘people’, ‘nation’ or ‘race’ have any meaning at all, then each individual has a responsibility to enquire into his complicity in political crimes. (Or as I would put it, you can’t belong and then wilfully ignore what is being done in your name). Walser was talking about complicity in the crimes of the Third Reich, but he could IMO just as easily be talking about political crimes against asylum seekers or future generations who will suffer the effects of climate change. He could just as easily be talking about the complicity of non-indigenous Australians in the distortion of its Black history.

Post-war Lies explores the vexed question of the culpability of the generation born in Germany between 1919 and 1927, and specifically whether they were members of the Nazi Party or not. According to Wikipedia there were 8.5 million members of the Nazi Party, (10% of the population) while Herzig says 10.1 million, but whatever the exact numbers were, in the post-war de-Nazification period (1946-1948) it was intended that these people should be the subject of intense scrutiny. The Allies were determined to rid Germany of Nazi ideology entirely, to punish supporters whose complicity was criminal, and to ensure that Nazi Party members were removed from positions of influence. (See Wikipedia). The numbers, of course, made the goal unachievable. Inevitably, people slipped through the net. And by the 1950s, it was realised that it wasn’t possible to create a functioning, economically independent and democratic state without the contribution of these people, and the Constitution was amended so that ‘minor offenders’ who’d been sacked could be re-employed. Herzig’s figures show that some West German government departments were completely dominated by ex-Nazi Party members.

But those were the older generation. A generation defined by the date that they joined the Nazi party. If they were one of the 1.5 million that joined the Party before Hitler came to power in 1933, they were defined as ‘hard-core Nazis’ (See Wikipedia), (differentiating them from those that Herzig calls opportunists, conformists or the ambitious). They were expected to atone for what had been done (if such atonement is ever possible). But Herzig’s interest is in the Flakhelfer generation, the Hitler Youth generation that in some contexts can be described as child soldiers, and in particular those who became the high-profile leaders in positions of influence who helped to rebuild post-war Germany into a genuine democracy. For these people exposure of any Nazi past is a stain on Germany’s contrition and a personal affront. Despite what looks like compelling evidence, the claim that they progressed from the Hitler Youth (which was compulsory for Aryans from 1936, and unavoidable) to becoming members of the Nazi Party, is, apparently, almost universally denied.

To read the rest of my review please visit
http://anzlitlovers.com/2014/11/09/po...

[Benjamin Farr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malte Herwig's Postwar Lies offers a fascinating exploration of the ways prominent Germans navigated personal ambition, societal pressure, and the burden of collective guilt in post-war Germany.

[Lysergius · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at, among other things, when an applicant could have been considered to have joined the NSDAP. Many prominent Germans have used the argument of "block membership" as an excuse for their memory lapses when it came to completing the "Fragebogen" to obtain their "Persilschein". Herwig explores this phenomenon, and in addition gives a potted history of the BDC (The Berlin Document Centre) where the 8.5 million membership cards of all members of the NSDAP were stored. He describes the antics of the government of the FRG and BRG in attempting not to assume responsibility for the 50 tons of explosive contained therein and much more besides.

All in all an interesting take on a thorny subject that has plagued Germany since the end of the War.

[lärm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one left me with mixed feelings..

On the one hand this book is absolutely fascinating, when it shows us how Germany deals with NSDAP membership, on the other hand it's downright stupid, when you look at the whole thought behind the book.

Membership of the NSDAP was not open to just about anyone. In fact, it was considered elitist, open to only the very best and one had to apply personally. There was no a priori membership just because you were active in any of the Nazi organizations.
At the end of the war the Nazis tried to cover up as much as they could and destroyed as much documents as possible. The files concerning membership to the party survived the war however, and got into US hands very fast.
They became very handy in the process of denazification. Lying about involvement was not easy with physical evidence being available.
Interestingly though, it became clear very soon to both Allies and Germans that a fresh start without ex-Nazis was only a great thought that was impossible to put into practice. In fact, most Nazis got their position back and in the 50’s a lot of institutions had 30 to 50% (or more) ex Nazis amongst their ranks. The whole concept of Stunde Null/Neubeginn turned out to be pure fiction. Apart from the highest ranked Nazis, everybody turned back to his old job, business as usual.

Already in the 60’s the US wanted to return the archives containing NSDAP membership to the Germans. For some (obvious) reason the Germans did everything to delay this return, stalling it some 3 decades! After all, many people in high positions had a dark/brown past they didn’t want to be reminded of. The East German secret police knew that and tried their very best to uncover the nazi past of prominent West German people in their so-called Braunbuch.

Over and over again Malte tells us how prominent West Germans deny their nazi past, even though their application form is found in the archives. As an excuse, most claim they became member beyond their will, probably through a group application as a birthday present for Adolf Hitler. Others stick to amnesia.
What does Malte actually want to prove, what does he expect? Nobody was proud of being a nazi once the war was lost. So does it really come as a surprise that people try to hide their involvement? And just how much value has the application of a 17 year old? At that age people are still clueless about the real life. Can you really condemn a teenager for being blinded by the nazis?
Is there any benefit in revealing nsdap membership decades after the war if the applicant was at that time a snotnosed brat? I would be silent if I was in their shoes.
Some ex-nazis became the biggest defenders of post war democratic Germany.. is that something to be surprised about? I’m just curious how many 17 year olds applied to the NSDAP in ‘44/’45 and what percentage of that became prominents..
So Gunther Grass joined the Waffen SS.. how would you be if you were in his position.. It is very easy to judge for people who were born after the war. What about those you spent the majority of their youth in the 3rd reich..

Whatever the main idea was behind this book, it didn’t make much sense to me. I would recommend reading this book nevertheless as the chapters about Grass and Walser turned out to be really interesting.

[piet van genderen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In het naoorlogse Duitsland ontkenden veel leidende figuren dat zij zich ooit hadden aangemeld. bij de NSDAP. Een soort collectieve geheugenstoornis. Zij wisten niet dat de nagenoeg volledige ledenadministratie in Amerikaanse handen was gevallen. Jarenlang hielden de Amerikanen het lidmaatschap van nieuwe politieke leiders en vooraanstaande wetenschappers geheim. Het boek besteedt vooral aandacht aan de jongeren die de laatste lichting vormden.

[Tobias · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine, I suppose. A bit repetitive, didn't really make a strong argument until the end, and even then it was not a particularly profound argument. I had hoped for something a bit more comprehensive about the influence of former Nazis in the two Germanys after the war, but this wasn't that.