How do democratic and pluralistic societies cope with traumatic events in their past? This interdisciplinary volume analyzes in detail for the first time the history and image of the German 'Wehrmacht' and the debates in Austria and Germany surrounding two highly contested exhibitions about the war crimes of the 'Wehrmacht' during World War II.

Notes on Contributors Preface with Acknowledgements; H.Heer, W.Manoschek, A.Pollak & R.Wodak Preface to the First Edition: 'How History Is Made' - The Origins and Aims of the Project; R.Wodak Introduction: Collective Memory, National Narratives and The Politics of the Past; H.Heer & R.Wodak PART 1: THE WEHRMACHT AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN THE MEMORY OF THE WAR GENERATION The Crimes of the Wehrmacht in the Second World War; W.Manoschek The Holocaust as Recounted in Wehrmacht Soldiers' Letters from the Front; W.Manoschek The Attitudes and Beliefs of Austrian Soldiers in the German Wehrmacht 1938-45: W.Manoschek 'That is What is So Terrible - That Millions of Soldiers Were There, Yet Today They All Claim They Never Saw a Thing'; H. Heer PART 2: THE WEHRMACHT IN COLLECTIVE MEMORY AFTER 1945 Defining the Victims of Nazism; G.Sandner & W.Manoschek The Myth of the 'Untainted Wehrmacht'; A.Pollak 'The Appalling Toll in Austrian Lives...'; S.Loitfellner All that Remains of the Second World War; A.Pollak PART 3: REACTION TO THE WEHRMACHT EXHIBITIONS Crime Scene: Wehrmacht Exhibition; A.Pollak & R.Wodak The Head of Medusa; H.Heer Interpreting the 'War of Annihilation'; H.Uhl Glossary Print Media References Index

'Ruth Wodak and her interdisciplinary team shed light on the Wehrmacht crimes during WWII as well as their subsequent reception and representation. The volume gives an excellent overview of this important part of the history and aftermath of the Holocaust. Its specific layout and structure can also serve as a paradigm for comparable studies.' - Dirk Rupnow, Forum: Qualitative Social Research ...the questions of collective memory and public discourse raised in these empirical studies are...of the highest importance...This book, rich in detail and ethical clarity, deserves a wide readership.' - John D.H. Downing, Southern Illinois University, Discourse and Society '...an accomplished collection of articles written on a high level with findings of scholarly interest.' -Jewish Political Studies Review 'The book under review is welcome as a contribution to the history of the exhibition in particular and thus of German "memory politics" in general, as well as to discourse analysis and historical society. It is a wide-ranging and thought-provoking volume.' - Journal of Genocide Research

SABINE LOITFELLNER is a historian and Research Fellow at the Austrian Research Centre for Postwar Trials (FS&N) GUENTHER SANDNER is Director of the Austrian Science Fund(FWF)-supported research project 'Democratisation of Knowledge: Otto Neurath's Project in the Context of Different Scientific Cultures'. HEIDEMARIE UHL is a historian and fellow in the research programme 'Places of Commemoration' at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.