“Das Haus Deutschland unter einem Europäischen Dach” – Helmut Kohl’s Political Implementation of the Symbolic Value of Dresden’s Frauenkirche
Abstract
This study analyzes the portrayal of Dresden as a historic European city, which gained prominence in public discourse after its destruction in World War II. Chancellor Helmut Kohl gave a public speech about restoring Dresden to former glory, using the Frauenkirche as a backdrop. The author explores post-WWII discourse of German suffering and guilt in the context of West German anti-communist politics in the dawn of the Wende. The visual aspect of Kohl’s speech is also considered, i.e. the camera shows the ruined church in the background as a symbol of Christian martyrdom. The author concludes that Kohl’s speech contributed to the creation of a post-unification urban space that reflects an aspect of German post-war memory culture still in crisis.
Abstract
This study analyzes the portrayal of Dresden as a historic European city, which gained prominence in public discourse after its destruction in World War II. Chancellor Helmut Kohl gave a public speech about restoring Dresden to former glory, using the Frauenkirche as a backdrop. The author explores post-WWII discourse of German suffering and guilt in the context of West German anti-communist politics in the dawn of the Wende. The visual aspect of Kohl’s speech is also considered, i.e. the camera shows the ruined church in the background as a symbol of Christian martyrdom. The author concludes that Kohl’s speech contributed to the creation of a post-unification urban space that reflects an aspect of German post-war memory culture still in crisis.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- List of Tables and Figures VII
- Declaring Places, Placing Declaratives – An Introduction 1
- ‘Her Seedy Elegance’ – An Intermedial Investigation of Crowds as a Central Part of Dublin’s Soundscape in James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922) and Liam O’Flaherty’s The Informer (1925) 15
- “Small Town” or “Small City”? – ‘Inter-Textual Place-Making’ in Queenstown, New Zealand 33
- Chaos and Conflict or Complexity and Pluralism? – Multimodality and Perspectives on Potential Attributions of Meaning in the Egyptian Capital of Cairo 55
- “Das Haus Deutschland unter einem Europäischen Dach” – Helmut Kohl’s Political Implementation of the Symbolic Value of Dresden’s Frauenkirche 75
- The Linguistic Landscape of Chicago’s La Villita 93
- Talk about Talk – From an Urban Space to a Dialect Place – How a Collective Body of Knowledge Influences Communicative Dynamics in Naples 119
- Linguistic Landscape and Beyond – The Swiss People’s Party’s (SVP) Campaign Posters in Urban Areas, in the Media, and as Temporary Public Places of Urban Communication 143
- English as a Written Representation of the Visual Mode – A Study of Public Advertising in Klagenfurt, Austria 167
- Ancient Roman City Gates – Hubs in a Network 185
- List of Contributors 205
- Index 207
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- List of Tables and Figures VII
- Declaring Places, Placing Declaratives – An Introduction 1
- ‘Her Seedy Elegance’ – An Intermedial Investigation of Crowds as a Central Part of Dublin’s Soundscape in James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922) and Liam O’Flaherty’s The Informer (1925) 15
- “Small Town” or “Small City”? – ‘Inter-Textual Place-Making’ in Queenstown, New Zealand 33
- Chaos and Conflict or Complexity and Pluralism? – Multimodality and Perspectives on Potential Attributions of Meaning in the Egyptian Capital of Cairo 55
- “Das Haus Deutschland unter einem Europäischen Dach” – Helmut Kohl’s Political Implementation of the Symbolic Value of Dresden’s Frauenkirche 75
- The Linguistic Landscape of Chicago’s La Villita 93
- Talk about Talk – From an Urban Space to a Dialect Place – How a Collective Body of Knowledge Influences Communicative Dynamics in Naples 119
- Linguistic Landscape and Beyond – The Swiss People’s Party’s (SVP) Campaign Posters in Urban Areas, in the Media, and as Temporary Public Places of Urban Communication 143
- English as a Written Representation of the Visual Mode – A Study of Public Advertising in Klagenfurt, Austria 167
- Ancient Roman City Gates – Hubs in a Network 185
- List of Contributors 205
- Index 207
