Kultura pamięci i wspomnień w Niemczech po drugiej wojnie światowej

The time ofF Nazism and especially of World War II is the most important point of reference for historical memory of German society. It underwent considerable change during the last two generations. In the 1950s Germans felt victims of the war, misled by a clique of criminals around Hitler. 1958 marked the beginning of a series of processes against perpetrators of war crimes. Since the 1960s discussion on individual and collective involvement in and support for National Socialism has not ceased until now. Attempts to rule off this discussion or to historicize and thereby to relativize the uniqueness of National Socialism have vividly been refuted. Today in several central places in Berlin there are monuments remembering different groups of victims of National Socialism, in some cases after heated debates.