Accounting for war burials in the German Democratic Republic; the politics of knowledge production in the aftermath of mass death
The area of Germany which became the Soviet Occupation Zone/German Democratic Republic (GDR) bore the brunt of the Soviet offensive of 1945. This last phase of the Second World War on German soil produced a sensational death toll. Yet, a systematic registration of war burials on GDR soil did not tak...
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Manchester University Press
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Human Remains and Violence |
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| Online Access: | https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/journals/hrv/10/2/article-p58.xml |
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| author | Laura Tradii |
| author_facet | Laura Tradii |
| author_sort | Laura Tradii |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The area of Germany which became the Soviet Occupation Zone/German Democratic Republic (GDR) bore the brunt of the Soviet offensive of 1945. This last phase of the Second World War on German soil produced a sensational death toll. Yet, a systematic registration of war burials on GDR soil did not take place until the 1970s. This article analyses a particular facet of knowledge production and mass death by turning to the process of accounting for Second World War burials through lists and statistics in the socialist GDR, with a particular focus on key policy changes in the 1970s. Unpacking the reasons which prompted a large-scale registration of war burials some twenty-five years after the end of the war, I argue that the process of accounting for war deaths was shaped by both domestic and foreign politics, and in particular by evolving relations with non-socialist countries. I also demonstrate that international requirements for the visibility and accountability of war burials, as enshrined in the Geneva Conventions, generated tensions with a domestic ‘politics of history’ which required the invisibility of particular categories of dead. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c7993a42e3b94fc4aaa8d7c60f3073e3 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2054-2240 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Manchester University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Human Remains and Violence |
| spelling | doaj-art-c7993a42e3b94fc4aaa8d7c60f3073e32025-07-25T15:53:57ZengManchester University PressHuman Remains and Violence2054-22402024-12-011025874https://doi.org/10.7227/HRV.10.2.5Accounting for war burials in the German Democratic Republic; the politics of knowledge production in the aftermath of mass deathLaura Tradii0University of KentThe area of Germany which became the Soviet Occupation Zone/German Democratic Republic (GDR) bore the brunt of the Soviet offensive of 1945. This last phase of the Second World War on German soil produced a sensational death toll. Yet, a systematic registration of war burials on GDR soil did not take place until the 1970s. This article analyses a particular facet of knowledge production and mass death by turning to the process of accounting for Second World War burials through lists and statistics in the socialist GDR, with a particular focus on key policy changes in the 1970s. Unpacking the reasons which prompted a large-scale registration of war burials some twenty-five years after the end of the war, I argue that the process of accounting for war deaths was shaped by both domestic and foreign politics, and in particular by evolving relations with non-socialist countries. I also demonstrate that international requirements for the visibility and accountability of war burials, as enshrined in the Geneva Conventions, generated tensions with a domestic ‘politics of history’ which required the invisibility of particular categories of dead.https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/journals/hrv/10/2/article-p58.xmlwar graveseast germanymass death |
| spellingShingle | Laura Tradii Accounting for war burials in the German Democratic Republic; the politics of knowledge production in the aftermath of mass death Human Remains and Violence war graves east germany mass death |
| title | Accounting for war burials in the German Democratic Republic; the politics of knowledge production in the aftermath of mass death |
| title_full | Accounting for war burials in the German Democratic Republic; the politics of knowledge production in the aftermath of mass death |
| title_fullStr | Accounting for war burials in the German Democratic Republic; the politics of knowledge production in the aftermath of mass death |
| title_full_unstemmed | Accounting for war burials in the German Democratic Republic; the politics of knowledge production in the aftermath of mass death |
| title_short | Accounting for war burials in the German Democratic Republic; the politics of knowledge production in the aftermath of mass death |
| title_sort | accounting for war burials in the german democratic republic the politics of knowledge production in the aftermath of mass death |
| topic | war graves east germany mass death |
| url | https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/journals/hrv/10/2/article-p58.xml |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lauratradii accountingforwarburialsinthegermandemocraticrepublicthepoliticsofknowledgeproductionintheaftermathofmassdeath |