The Politics of Graves – Negotiations, Practice and Reactions about Fallen German Soldiers of World War Two and Their Resting Places in Russia
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Nina Janz
Abstract
The coming to terms with the past is essential as a negotiating point in interstate relations, especially in the consequences of the Second World War. Not only the question towards compensation, guilt and victimhood but as well in numbers and losses of humans - and their remains. The dealing of the commemoration of the dead and their resting places makes an integral part in the history politics. After the end of the Soviet Union, the new Russian Federation signed an agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany on the war graves in both countries. Based on this document, the German War Grave Commission is allowed to work on the Russian territory, recovering, exhuming and building new cemeteries for the German dead. Its workflow and the access to the former soldier graves consist not without difficulties. Starting with the diplomatic and political issue of the traces of the Wehrmacht in Russia and the Soviet Union, continuing with gaining access and the permission for excavations and constructing new burial grounds in Russia, the work of the German organisation met obstacles, reservations and incomprehension. The cemetery constructions were restricted by local negotiations partners. Protests appeared by veterans and the local population. The fallen Wehrmacht soldiers, who attacked the Soviet Union and committed crimes against humanity, trigger very controversial discussions alongside the official Russian narrative of the Great Patriotic War. Based on the negotiations regarding the graves of the deceased, a policy about historical images arose, which can be interpreted as politics of graves
Abstract
The coming to terms with the past is essential as a negotiating point in interstate relations, especially in the consequences of the Second World War. Not only the question towards compensation, guilt and victimhood but as well in numbers and losses of humans - and their remains. The dealing of the commemoration of the dead and their resting places makes an integral part in the history politics. After the end of the Soviet Union, the new Russian Federation signed an agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany on the war graves in both countries. Based on this document, the German War Grave Commission is allowed to work on the Russian territory, recovering, exhuming and building new cemeteries for the German dead. Its workflow and the access to the former soldier graves consist not without difficulties. Starting with the diplomatic and political issue of the traces of the Wehrmacht in Russia and the Soviet Union, continuing with gaining access and the permission for excavations and constructing new burial grounds in Russia, the work of the German organisation met obstacles, reservations and incomprehension. The cemetery constructions were restricted by local negotiations partners. Protests appeared by veterans and the local population. The fallen Wehrmacht soldiers, who attacked the Soviet Union and committed crimes against humanity, trigger very controversial discussions alongside the official Russian narrative of the Great Patriotic War. Based on the negotiations regarding the graves of the deceased, a policy about historical images arose, which can be interpreted as politics of graves
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
International Conflicts Employing History as Its Instrument: What they are and how to Measure them?
- Historical Memory as a Variable: Two Analytic Frameworks 11
- How (and why) to Measure Conflicts of Memory? 31
-
History as an Instrument of Politics in Central and Eastern Europe
- Between Orwell and Fukuyama. Poland and its Neighbours: Disputes over History 43
- Overcoming Conflicting Memories: History in the Polish-German Relations after 1989 55
- Heritage Burnt, Heritage Born – Paradox of “Space of Memory” in Conflicts: Ukraine’s Experience Reconsidered 71
- The Accession Policy and Identity Conflict 79
- Narrating Conflicts in Post-Truth Era: Facing Revisionist Russia. Ukraine and Georgia in a Comparative Perspective 91
- The Dynamic Character of the Conflictual Historical Narrative (on the Example of the Georgian-Turkish Relations) 125
- The Politics of Graves – Negotiations, Practice and Reactions about Fallen German Soldiers of World War Two and Their Resting Places in Russia 133
- Peaceful Foreign Policy and Remembrance of War Effort. The Conceptualisation of Willingness to Defend in Finland and Its Connections to Previous Armed Conflict, 1960s–1989 147
-
History and Politics beyond Europe
- Shadows of the Past. Japanese Imperial Policy and Its Influence on Contemporary Domestic and Foreign Policy of Japan 159
- Disputes over Public Memory of U.S. Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the Case of Smithsonian’s Enola Gay Exhibitions (1994–2003) 189
- Japan’s Power in East Sumatra and South Sumatra 201
- From Allies to Enemies; Putting the Israeli- Iranian Conflict in Historical Context 213
- History and its Impact on Contemporary International Relations: The Case of Rwanda 231
-
Successes and Failures: Methods of Getting Out of Historical Conflicts
- The Resurfacing of the “Titanic” in the Balkan Bermuda Triangle: Political Conflicts over History between Sofia, Skopje and Athens before and after 1989 245
- Israeli-Polish Political Dispute over the Amendment of the Act of the Institute of National Remembrance 259
- Historical Commissions: A Mean to Overcome Traumatic Historical Experiences? 275
- Possibilities of Building a Memory Dialogue between Russia and Poland Concerning Soviet Repression 291
- List of Contributors 301
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
International Conflicts Employing History as Its Instrument: What they are and how to Measure them?
- Historical Memory as a Variable: Two Analytic Frameworks 11
- How (and why) to Measure Conflicts of Memory? 31
-
History as an Instrument of Politics in Central and Eastern Europe
- Between Orwell and Fukuyama. Poland and its Neighbours: Disputes over History 43
- Overcoming Conflicting Memories: History in the Polish-German Relations after 1989 55
- Heritage Burnt, Heritage Born – Paradox of “Space of Memory” in Conflicts: Ukraine’s Experience Reconsidered 71
- The Accession Policy and Identity Conflict 79
- Narrating Conflicts in Post-Truth Era: Facing Revisionist Russia. Ukraine and Georgia in a Comparative Perspective 91
- The Dynamic Character of the Conflictual Historical Narrative (on the Example of the Georgian-Turkish Relations) 125
- The Politics of Graves – Negotiations, Practice and Reactions about Fallen German Soldiers of World War Two and Their Resting Places in Russia 133
- Peaceful Foreign Policy and Remembrance of War Effort. The Conceptualisation of Willingness to Defend in Finland and Its Connections to Previous Armed Conflict, 1960s–1989 147
-
History and Politics beyond Europe
- Shadows of the Past. Japanese Imperial Policy and Its Influence on Contemporary Domestic and Foreign Policy of Japan 159
- Disputes over Public Memory of U.S. Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the Case of Smithsonian’s Enola Gay Exhibitions (1994–2003) 189
- Japan’s Power in East Sumatra and South Sumatra 201
- From Allies to Enemies; Putting the Israeli- Iranian Conflict in Historical Context 213
- History and its Impact on Contemporary International Relations: The Case of Rwanda 231
-
Successes and Failures: Methods of Getting Out of Historical Conflicts
- The Resurfacing of the “Titanic” in the Balkan Bermuda Triangle: Political Conflicts over History between Sofia, Skopje and Athens before and after 1989 245
- Israeli-Polish Political Dispute over the Amendment of the Act of the Institute of National Remembrance 259
- Historical Commissions: A Mean to Overcome Traumatic Historical Experiences? 275
- Possibilities of Building a Memory Dialogue between Russia and Poland Concerning Soviet Repression 291
- List of Contributors 301
