The Tannenberg myth in history and literature, 1914–1945
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12529841 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jan Vermeiren (University of East Anglia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 778-802 |
| Publication date | 2018-09-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Review of History Revue européenne d histoire (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1350-7486 • E-ISSN: 1469-8293 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13507486.2018.1497010 |
| OpenAlex | W2884016250 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 21 |
The Battle of Tannenberg in late August 1914 has been described as the ‘most powerful German myth’ of the First World War. This essay analyses the role of the battle in German collective memory up to the end of the Third Reich. During the war, the victory in East Prussia was celebrated widely and greatly contributed to the personality cult surrounding Paul von Hindenburg. After 1918, Tannenberg served right-wing circles as a political argument against the post-war order, evoked to underscore the notion of German victimhood against Slav ‘encirclement’, the ‘war guilt lie’ and the territorial provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. However, it never really captured the attention or imagination of writers and artists. Linked primarily to national-conservative groups and ideals, Tannenberg was also of no major significance in National Socialist propaganda
Ancient history · Archaeology · Argument (complex analysis · Art · Battle · Cult · German · Literature · Mythology · Nazism · Order (exchange · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Treaty · Victory · World War II · Central European national history · Classics · European history and politics · History · Law · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact
Von Richthofen bis Remarque
Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning
Die Dichter und der Krieg. Deutsche Lyrik 1914-1918
Hindenburg
The Cambridge History of the First World War
Rites of Spring
Tannenberg
The Silent Dictatorship
Langemarck, Verdun and the Myth of a New Man in Germany after the First World War
War, Violence and the Modern Condition
Meine Kriegserinnerungen, 1914-1918
The Great War and Modern Memory
Unheard-of Brutality
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |