FALLEN SOLDIERS Reshaping the Memory of the World Wars GEORGE L. MOSSE New York Oxford OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1990‘used to memorialize tr own marty, most spectacle atthe ‘Schlager Monomeat n Dolor where it Gointed teenie ein "Tale ceremony of Aristc Day tok pate ja both Prote sat apd nd PrP Gece Fat ‘Sony tn, wile a Cato coon ke ay and rane the fou was fied, seems s oledence not len Teed to the Cierent functions of he aor ithe Protesant nd Catholic Chrch: At sin Eagan thie Gremrtance was dicated by ‘Sremonia neds, andthe Garman dead iy on fomer eney {Story which a it esc sve a fa a the Gea o> femmett was concemed. In any can te laborae ceremonil ‘Sec wih he Unknown Soir ren Seamed more Suit ‘She toravtous th for dtd nation ; "Thongh the News Wc svied te Sond Wold Wer, 8 orignal pct was sal Peay we if ate aie he Sr when litany comes and, sbove al olor natn mons Ines provided th owt forte ele Momuents Ike the Ky ‘inert to crate Geeta ung (1696), were Wading! acs of pliginage: set nature, the Getnans landscape, Tater tat i the niet of «bsting cy, ate wich oh we tw, ind coe too sett a fig oe German sire Loa Tmomsnest fo eles ako ma have saved ost ore af ‘ee oo el aoe sont ih an nal foyates suchas Germany. Meith, the cpa of Bares {Grex but frown Tom ofthe Unknown Slr, nts aos ining the foe of teva Eng or pice 0 ‘German calledate—excep tat te fire was In oder nl {lnm wearing a steel Rett, ile a hang, No doubt twas elt {or the Nene Wack to hed i petal Preis asolatos. Even so te Third Reich, which Fepeded the ctf he fallen as tinlto fs slespromnation dd mae the Ton he Uakaora See ene et caborstecremonist on Armistice Day. Neve. tines, Germany lacked the foc fori cult ofthe wat dead ‘wich England and France postesed inthe Ceotph ad the ATS {Gr Tiiomge. In Genny ie ighend tonal cosclosness socal mh bec was paced lo vty wr me Tals or eromonia et The Cal ofthe Fallen Sir ” w ‘War monumeats provided the local focus fr the el of he ale, lace wadgonally war monuments and not the grves of he allen ‘nd reved to memorialize tet strifce, At fs however, aly ‘les or generals were anned he common soir wns load {oa mere number, Bot hs hd changed by the 1860s and asthe Fi World War soup to honor each oe the ar dead hough 1s own grave or though the isripion of hs name atthe bail ace to the name ofl the flea were now nered on Teal ‘rar Remora. Typically enough ae we hive mentioned sad, ‘only the names of generals had been Usted onthe Are de TH ‘mpbe, bt after he Pst Word War the Unown Solder, whose ‘nk wos equal tnknowa, ny in tomb a fhe contr of the ah Ech individual oldie who fll in bt had become a person of ‘ot, sharing the misdon of all the fallen, mision which pald tb heed to rank or statu, Such proces of democratiaton ad ‘been iberet in the aie rised Uy comnrption ad inthe spi atthe volunteer. ‘The Myth of the War Experience was a democratic myth cn- tered upon te sation symbsized by al ofthe war don Only in ‘this way could the Myth ofthe Wat Expetince attempt to ra seend te fontge soldiers eacouatr with death, ceassng th ‘memory ofthe dread of war. Veterans ongriztons fer th wa ‘Sant divide according miltery rank, one for men and anotber for allows; instead, Wostline soldier Sought 10 claim special ‘aus and to be dtigulsed from those who had not known tle {n the teebes, Bven 8 Communit ke Henn Barone in Prance founded a vtecane organization to which only frontline veterans ‘ere amited! War memorial conte to celebrate he fallen ‘nth conograpay vali for al solders and forthe etre nation, ‘Unies war monuments wee erected in cemetces, or in conte tion with the Tomb ef the Unknown Soir, they could never 85 ins of worsipsval the memovals more immediately sso ‘td with the dead. The acta! presence of martyrs wat always Inport for de efeesvene of paces of pilgrimage; tho the (Geman To of the Unknown Soler was expt, sil raidte atmosphere ofan actual bor place, while the Cenotaph ‘Served en th foes for oa xenon. Thecus mere mad oie ops for crooning o pot sng ven aroud ve wat memo order to wanton her ‘Pe dead fog memoria plan which had bon aed ‘Shore he warn te dein of ote sao] menue sch 8 {Snr Sommenmortg the Ble of Lely (H813) But now Be pl fo psene te socalled scedhess of war nomement seihe ws of suc sare cotonersa. Afr the Fist Word ‘Wari we thoi athe mou soc vets wold produce ould Tet be econcte wi he spi of reverence A war OME Thou pre: A pester comtiousoos af the fc af mie wa 8 iyrpodl of urbanization (anietemen ocetes had gob (2 Tom soon after the tra of the centary®), Once gsi, te membrane of wr cased wih moda Tatas conversa ase ae of the pace surounding the memoria ee th question of wheter a war memo shoud fu {ETsome cancels ers of ving Whee eal ms be ‘cay act om idly rommngs eter i should {five aay function rested fo the presenta lwo ul debated in Huopeansnors ding the Second World Wat, THe United Shae co equi fret spproach community bids swat tmenorals bane popuar irmednly ater tbe Fist World er monty to sete actual coe, but somesine as conve how hal rae facies: Tare the Nationa Commitee on Manor Buildin, ened by Gener ohn 8. Pushing, w ‘Sablsbed in 119, something bape to imagine in Gee, ‘Shore memoria he spe o's itary wes consered ule ‘evo. Eve in Enid qrtion of fontn as oped to he edne ofthe ma expernce conned ob deta “Te con burma he meted and profane srowe once a ‘rte pling te Tonetionl again he scred. The sacred ha to gre aa appearance of inmtabiy, ot conaminged ¥ mod rtinduail soy, however consi hs ight be i hing {Sleommemorte the war dead, Arne ste max prdcton of [iedsooe! for war cenetees wa condemned as profmaon, fd oo mas he sleton of war monuments fom moult Sulog The sacred almoys messtungorness and nimi The Cal ofthe Fallen Slr the war monument oospied sere place dedintd 10 the cnc ‘eligon ot anonai, Yet perpetesting the preindusal nage of the maton id not mean rejecting moder weehacogy. Nationale Im, which annexed naar, aso dominated the meetin, sor ‘iting tt it ends. Modern technology and its power were put Int the serie of the ation and st te sme time spittin, kscibed in meseal inages (asthe kalghts of the sky), su ‘unde by nate (s2 Picture 5, p67) oF by mations sysbol Moreover, images ofan dori moderaty could sso become anal pony; ab Brst Junge wrote ia 1922, poetry is now ‘wien ou of tel and the stu Tor power in atl The ‘ional and the moder ae prjeted by x wat memoda om hich a solder carying a moderate tans he foot ot = hoge ‘Germania medieval ress, Tho tel helmet often pest even (war memorials where canal homer dinate’ Moder ‘es absorbed by war memorials, while it was ignored by maltary ‘metres nd the Tomb of te Unknown Sle. ‘Ben 10, Methold Lay in hit detailed examination of German ‘war memovial wes tht wile ster 1871 modern weapons were (ea an integral port of war momumens, fer the Fast World ‘War hey Became relatively rare Tasted, sords abounded 4 he vwespon of war! While this ference might Sv som fishon eect victory se agaist dee" seen ore ely that the Confrontation with &oew kindof mechanical warfare ha revuled {athe atl more rgent nod to mask death. The use of medieval symbols and evens medieval vocabulary fo accomplish this wil ‘py se father inthe following chigter. Dying by the sword, 1 Lutz points out, was to de by the haod of man, ad only ght which took plane ia single comet was tly eros. Th ‘oasmeat of Saat George andthe drogon tat mas eeced in 8 all Rovian vilgr symbolized sis concep of war, though & Sot of pontwar hate wa ntoduced nt the wedeval Scene whe th iabitants ofthe vllage demanded tat te éagon be ree. tlzable ste former eneay. More often, the Archangel Micha, representing Germany, wer shown vanishing the drape, s0d it ‘east one such memori, i Sony, the dragon was ao ideat- fed athe enemy" Medova analogies not cay marked moder: ss, but made helo vale within « aden fexmework 101‘War monuments sometns mimicked medieval statuary. Thus not ‘nly the mobuea to the Unknown Soldier in Music, bat also {hn ofthe village a nolan fw Rao, showed nee png the sme pave sd onthe ane Kind of tom wt eee! Aaights sd pincsi Gothic ated. Tf modem wespons were woualy eanfonned, the reas that id exston war monuments mas the bate des of te sole, ‘arly in solparer of wounded soldiers, or inthe get of © ‘mothe, War tontmens in Germany forte most par dngused the rely of war and eabodod the Myth ofthe War Experience ot only a to detalsofonograpy ut alo in te tugs of folders which pote the iene of outs and manliness, sat fee and womradeship. Manliness was emphasized in the bering sod fac expression of the bronze or ste soldiers, ad inthe ‘eltve simplicity of the monuments "Manly deeds can be oaly fonred in a manly manne,” ar publication clase co the ATS fod Grats Moverea has ie The sesurrction of the fale in ‘haogy to the Cavan Pasion was not commonly reseed ‘monument toogh I exe in the form of a Pets Cait ng inthe lap of Mary, and even Chit hlping slder—a thee os ‘omoa enough 0a postcards dig the war and in malay ome teres as well Such war monuments were cften sponsored by Catholic churches, tthe fallen risen fom the dad ras also the theme of gas window n a Nuremberg tax ofce™ The mas line, vl Solder was more common, projecting un inage of te ‘rind sregth symbolize bythe Ors ‘Most sles, even onthe monuments in the casicl tation, were fly clothed, but sometimes they were diely copied from {he Gres: naked warsion projecting» tncless tole. Such figures seemed te found mor fen on shemoral a une, ‘besing porapa the manly sae pt forh by their vlnneer, toch ae tow who did inthe legendary bate of Langemarce. "That the war memorial a the University of Munich cons of Palys, the naked spar case, and at he University of Bonn 3 ‘kel youth rss sword over hie heed, while node warors ‘were ready to do bat a te Technical Univesity of Dresden. ‘Ago, the modern mas sometimes integrated ith the ncn; fr he Cl ofthe Fallen Ser 103 example, one monument shows a naked Grek warrior weaing & Stel inet sad about throw and premade” “Germonic themes apesied relatively more often after the d= eatin 1918 than bolt ue sontuaed by mater form rather than a supeae, Whereas utes ke te ancient hero Ariss (Geena the German), wo had defeted the Roman legions, ‘mee sometines part of te zlet sulptare on the monuments Foundation, Germanic themes were mail expressed inthe heros (pove and boulders Thus the boulder in font of the Munich ary Mansum, which served ss a memeril to the fallen, was falled tn "espresson of Gemany’s fate Yet Christian and ‘Ghscal theme stil dominated wat monuoents 2 they bad ino ‘iced the design of war comers: the two great tations were {ed egin and again to bp tnasend fhe horor of war and pont {othe war experience tate fulfilment os personal and national Mel "The conserva ofthe clt of the fallen neds to bs emphae sad, Wncver maern or experimental forms were suggest oF tren bul they aroused storm of apposition and proved inal {hes For example the srelect Bro Tut ait «brary and & reading room for ibe sy Magdeburg asa was memoria, Tas ‘asa intelectual notion wc Broke wih past eaton and was homed to faire The large crystal ball he designed asa war ‘Demril was ever exeeted™ Both Ernst Beach and Kathe Kol ‘oderit war memorials, but wile the Kalle tte Memorial in a milery cometary sl stands, Balah's more Yrominetly deplayed werk were nys under atack and were ‘rentuly removed by te Ness Barie's mort fous war moo ‘nai he cathe of Mapésbarg and Gasrow peojeced the {utero reality of wae. The Bgures which consid the mona then at Glsrow reprseted dsr, eat, and despei. Bu even ‘Coaheroie yer oferwiseconventinal memorial was condemned te Baspheny. Tise = war monument in Disldor that showed fo coming soles with grim express, the hely solder | helping his wounded comrade, projected the misery rahe han the eras of war, I came ender ustsined stack unl the Nei = ‘oved ia wall16 a rast wom wax Such somtervai seveale beter th almcet anyother fact the ature ofthe eat ofthe war dnd ara ive ragon. Religious Services he ture, have always proved slagutly essa! to ‘hang. The arg ols mea aed women in2 Christan univers, tay change i their apo daorint them and to ca. Tenge tel fh, Moreover te uy of the fallen bed a speci srgency sost fy fori formed bridge from the horror to te (Bory of war ad Grom demar of the present to hope forthe fete "Tog he Second World War broke with tbe onl cult elt wat Sad, sling war menor and seni 0 emo> ‘Bal he ded ins moe popes td enon tae, en al gl foro ved on some he more rena eon. “Trin 18s te Beran ig ot Poking war aed to hose ‘htwwen to deg for swat sumone anc cot const ty two ene plement nam aust e ret cf war—and te ter ranal Sea ox ler fn eon, ‘shade ching seo eves oe ag bys ovr {ag malo voted forthe anal dps Let thought thr sch tno prev ony Garman rl commas ts after the Second Wort War, he major of small Alan outage Penh var van yep 3 mont ‘ben om which ack rato he be fon nt 8 Soe baget of fowes Tote sein we esos conser ‘hears vst rus, bt econtraon of war amor ‘mut be pt on thn sme plane at he bong ot» chr, een {hoogh te Catlic ad Protestant ingen f the Baveian ie lage ts seems cles oppose th new Ses forthe "We Germany exception in ts dsign of war momen? In {ly sls wor outs wove ts shown Gash ‘one’ snd masclar tron and agri freer 02 {eel war monsncry wc was teen Conary, Bo ten ay ood deny tate case raion od so serpe {iat we should ad moder gldaton on iv monet, Here sho sch oaograpy pests wa ut spree tet of aahood fod male camaraderie But th djing solr i lo Lequeat ‘heme in Tay mach es 0 a Gera ly and Genny tare ‘Tha Cal ofthe Fallen Slr 10s the seminode clic yout asa symbol of an aggresive man "ios themes were part of English memorials os well, and sf ery my eng Have ‘Sic is awoxd over hs brad ike the youth o the memodel et the Univer of Boon The sword inst of he pt elt George tnd the dragon, memorized fe fallen in Eman asin Ge Stony" On mod! French var emorls no human ges oP ert, and whee they din cont fo Germany ao Maj {bey were clomed ahr than nade" There were evn ry few Siver monements in Prtoce: on one of tm, or example & Solder witout srs a with bandaged eyes i shown dying ‘Azote moment sows tothe ota seat and pose ie, 12 depicted in some of the Ostman oe Tallan monomer, bu x ‘ged pointing on acting ger the Germans anche leans ver or det solder son However in Fras, but oot England, + figure a victory ws pat of any of te stontments to the fale, ‘Te diferent cheamvtances ofthe vir sad vangulbed were Telecel nthe cto the fle: ad no evar wat ‘monument and oo earaged mother. Neer could bave Rep fegenernte the ato, noring with new yout, cog, D8 ‘pro that might overcome dt "Yet whe some monuments mightier, he cult was sia in atta hese nats: Chrintan and clas, projecting the fair Image of te manne of the fle, Their ak wat othe sae. Not ony in Germany bat, for example in Franc, he fle ove from their graves 10 perorm miracle Roland Doves fn his famous Le Revel der mors (The Amekening ofthe Bead, 1923) Ih flee gin orer to bring ase and morality Back {bo Prencen's ies, But in aly als he faentansoeod death fd are resurreced" These iets ate rflsted in all wat ce fees andon mowoments trough the Unless seeogpe ofthe ‘let warn ‘Berger the cal of the war dead was faked 10 these representation ofthe non The ve region of atonal wed [anil and Christan temes as well ah native lndscape To ‘rjc i image. Nor dd the emboli of youth change markedlyfrom ove nation to the other in Cental and Weer Europe ‘There were versions in expensing, bat tasaly they worked ‘within common fre of aferens, Defested Germany sew ‘ange of caput cl of ie Elo ad's proer apen3, focating, spon immediate persona) and. maton! regentaton “Moreover, Germany thre was brutal ee to the ct (a3 the face ofthe dragon) which was largely absent elswtere was Dt of a procs of pola! brian which the elt ofthe Eien forthered rather tan sestrined. "he cl ofthe fllon was atte enter of the Myth ofthe Wie Expesence, sopping I with symbols which refocised the mea ty of wat. The easanm which youth had one fel for wars ‘Mvenure or personel fulitinent was dealt sian after ete ‘esonig the reality of war, but the nation, sing the Myth he War Bxpevince, was able to keep the fame light. The Nit Knew wiat ty were doing when they made the cali of the wat ead and the cl of tee own rye contr 1 he om ple fal liturgy. "The cl of he fallen was of iportance for most of ‘he aan: simost every famly bad Tost oe of i embers sat ‘mos of he adult ale population had fought nthe wat aed let 8 hevihed find. Yet was the poticl Right and tot the Lalt Thich was able anaer the calf and make the most of i. The Inabiliy ofthe Left to fomet the realy ofthe war an to enter In the Myth ofthe War Experience wae gain forthe pole Fight, which was ble to exploit the aufering of millon: for ‘own polieal ends. The Myth of the War Experiens Balped 1 ‘uanscnd the hoor of war and a the same ime sported te ‘pia which paonalim Sought to projet an erate to the reality of postwar Geman. GHAPTER 6 The Appropriation of Nature ‘The importance of nate inBlpng to mask the reali of wa has companied ur analy a every tum, The war Soe I to Tighe avesoes of natre, wich in tm, ne a integral lee ‘ment of the Mth of he War Experience, served to diet atea- ‘Gon sway fom th impersonal of Ue war of moders technology fd the teaches toward pecndustial ions of indian, ‘Sivlry, andthe conquest of space and ime. he sao Hels ‘ofthe Alpr andthe Ble shes ver Fandets’ feds made i os | She for hose mho fought there—vittor or mouatln Woops 0 “toproprite what soomed to be immutable fn «changing Werld—2 | pce of ete. Moreover, suture could point Mmeware, 19 3 Fie of innocence and pesee. Nothing is more exemplary ofthis particular Areadietie transcendent function of ature—than \ fe sone In Walter Fler’s The Wanderer Between Two Word, here Flex an his fend Warche fen ign elds decd bee “Tin the tenes, othe scenes of sun-denched soles bathing = ls pond behind he frome tat Prat Fuel foand were among the most trounty ed imagen Engh war erature Thee ae