How do young people in German schools use Adolf Hitler to explain the Holocaust? Building on the ... more How do young people in German schools use Adolf Hitler to explain the Holocaust? Building on the uses of ‘Hitlerism’ to explain his political function, and ‘Hitlercentrism’ to explain his role in the historiography of the Second World War, this chapter enquires into uses of the Hitler trope in young people’s conceptions of the Holocaust, which may be called ‘Hitleration’. Drawing on evidence of a microstudy of young people’s narratives of national history in Germany carried out in 2012, the author argues that references to Hitler serve to reduce explanatory complexity by ascribing responsibility for the Holocaust to one person. As a narrative convention, moreover, the power of the Hitler trope in contemporary collective memories of the Holocaust testifies to an ongoing epistemological deference to this charismatic figure.
How do young people in German schools use Adolf Hitler to explain the Holocaust? Building on the ... more How do young people in German schools use Adolf Hitler to explain the Holocaust? Building on the uses of ‘Hitlerism’ to explain his political function, and ‘Hitlercentrism’ to explain his role in the historiography of the Second World War, this chapter enquires into uses of the Hitler trope in young people’s conceptions of the Holocaust, which may be called ‘Hitleration’. Drawing on evidence of a microstudy of young people’s narratives of national history in Germany carried out in 2012, the author argues that references to Hitler serve to reduce explanatory complexity by ascribing responsibility for the Holocaust to one person. As a narrative convention, moreover, the power of the Hitler trope in contemporary collective memories of the Holocaust testifies to an ongoing epistemological deference to this charismatic figure.
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