The more I read about the CW lost cause mythology, the more I can’t understand the relentless attempt to display statues of the men who made it their life mission to preserve the institution of slavery. While moving a confederate monument, or a monument’s plinth, to a cemetery might seem more acceptable somehow, I don’t think it’s even slightly appropriate to keep and/or display them anywhere. Maybe my opinion on this could be considered to be too harsh, but I don’t think Germans have chosen to honor former Nazi’s with statues.
There certainly aren't statues of Hitler and the other Nazi leaders in Germany, but there are memorials to German soldiers/sailors/airmen who fought in WWII. Although--if I'm not mistaken--they tend to be closer in nature and tone to the Vietnam Memorial than to typical Civil War statues.
Many towns have monuments that list those killed in both world wars. On a larger scale, the Möltenort U-Boat Memorial has commemorative plaques listing all the U-boat sailors killed in both world wars; additionally, submarine crewmen in the Bundeswehr (German Federal Armed Forces) killed in action since WWII are also honored, as are all victims of submarine warfare. Here's more information:
I've spent a good deal of time in the country with my German wife. What you say is true, but these memorials are part of a very different culture of memory when it comes specifically to WWII. My wife's generation, for example, spent a good deal of time in school confronting the causes of WWII and Nazi war crimes--something that has never happened in the United States re: the Civil War and Reconstruction unless you view the past few years as a sort of reckoning.
The more I read about the CW lost cause mythology, the more I can’t understand the relentless attempt to display statues of the men who made it their life mission to preserve the institution of slavery. While moving a confederate monument, or a monument’s plinth, to a cemetery might seem more acceptable somehow, I don’t think it’s even slightly appropriate to keep and/or display them anywhere. Maybe my opinion on this could be considered to be too harsh, but I don’t think Germans have chosen to honor former Nazi’s with statues.
There certainly aren't statues of Hitler and the other Nazi leaders in Germany, but there are memorials to German soldiers/sailors/airmen who fought in WWII. Although--if I'm not mistaken--they tend to be closer in nature and tone to the Vietnam Memorial than to typical Civil War statues.
Many towns have monuments that list those killed in both world wars. On a larger scale, the Möltenort U-Boat Memorial has commemorative plaques listing all the U-boat sailors killed in both world wars; additionally, submarine crewmen in the Bundeswehr (German Federal Armed Forces) killed in action since WWII are also honored, as are all victims of submarine warfare. Here's more information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6ltenort_U-Boat_Memorial#
https://www.ubootehrenmal.de/web5/
I've spent a good deal of time in the country with my German wife. What you say is true, but these memorials are part of a very different culture of memory when it comes specifically to WWII. My wife's generation, for example, spent a good deal of time in school confronting the causes of WWII and Nazi war crimes--something that has never happened in the United States re: the Civil War and Reconstruction unless you view the past few years as a sort of reckoning.
Thank you for sharing this information, Lee. Appreciate you taking the time to clarify.
-R
Glad what I sent you were able to share with the greater Civil War Memory group.
Thank you.
UPDATE: A reader over on Bluesky shared this story out of Alexandria, Virginia. https://www.alxnow.com/2023/02/02/the-base-of-the-appomattox-statue-has-resurfaced-atop-confederate-graves-in-alexandria/
As a Florida resident I’m mildly encouraged - seems like they are trying to get something right.
Do we know if the bronze was cast in the North?
Would have to confirm, but I suspect so.