Representing the "good German" in literature and culture after 1945: altruism and moral ambiguity

Abstract

In the aftermath of the Second World War, both the allied occupying powers and the nascent authorities sought whose record during the war and the Nazi period could serve as a counterpoint to the notion of as evil. That search has never really stopped. In the past few years, we have witnessed a burgeoning of cultural representations of this other kind of Third Reich citizen - the good German - as opposed to the committed Nazi or genocidal maniac. Such representations have highlighted individuals' choices in favor of dissenting behavior, moral truth, or at the very least civil disobedience. The good German's counterhegemonic practice cannot negate or contradict the barbaric reality of Hitler's Germany, but reflects a value system based on humanity and an other ideal community.This volume of new essays explores postwar and recent representations of good Germans during the Third Reich, analyzing the logic of moral behavior, cultural and moral relativism, and social conformity found in them. It thus draws together discussions of the function and reception of Good Germans in Germany and abroad.Contributors: Eoin Bourke, Manuel Braganca, Maeve Cooke, Kevin De Ornellas, Sabine Egger, Joachim Fischer, Coman Hamilton, Jon Hughes, Karina Lindeiner-Strasky, Alexandra Ludewig, Pol O Dochartaigh, Christiane Schonfeld, Matthias Uecker.Pol O Dochartaigh is Professor of and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. Christiane Schonfeld is Senior Lecturer in and Head of the Department of Studies at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick.