‘An Elite Among the Disabled’. The Welfare State and Identity Formation of Disabled Veterans in post‐war West Germany

Abstract

This article explores how disabled war veterans received preferential treatment by Federal German social and welfare politics in the first two decades after the Second World War. Based on the case of their ‘sacrifice for the fatherland’, disabled veterans were entitled to a generosity not experienced by persons disabled since birth, by an accident or illness. Powerful war victims’ associations successfully lobbied parliament and the architects of social and labour politics in order to secure significant privileges for the war-disabled. These related not only to state-funded programs of physical rehabilitation, but also to integration into the recovering West German economy. To explain these benefits, the article will analyse the interaction of various privileges awarded by both Federal politics and West German society as a whole with the identity formation of disabled veterans. Their understanding of war disability as a ‘badge of honour’, and their upholding of an inherently masculinistic concept of camaraderie created a strong sense of belonging, which enhanced their negotiating position with regards to state-funded rehabilitation programmes and re-integration into the workforce. Against the backdrop of economic and moral reconstruction, disabled veterans successfully navigated the ambivalence of being regarded as a ‘symbol of defeat’ and self-identifying as victims of a war they had fought on the frontlines.