Co zbylo z „napadených“ tradic? Spolek bývalých horských myslivců a jeho péče o tradiční vojenské hodnoty v SRN po zhroucení mýtu o „čistém wehrmachtu“

Abstract

What Has Remained of the Traditions under Attack? The Association of Mountain Troops’ Veterans and its Attitudes to Traditional Military Virtues in Germany after the Debunking of the Myth of the “Clean Wehrmacht”

This paper examines how the Kameradenkreis der Gebirgstruppe (Mountain Troops Association), one of the last significant German associations of World War II veterans, has dealt with the war crimes perpetrated by the Nazi Wehrmacht. It focuses on the reaction of the Kameradenkreis to a protest campaign organized by antifascist groups and various civic initiatives in Mittenwald, Bavaria, from 2002 to 2009. One of the main aims of the protesters was to disrupt traditional meetings of the former as well as active soldiers to commemorate fallen “comrades” at the Mountain Troops’ Memorial near Mittenwald. The meetings were seen as a symbol of the surviving “tradition of perpetrators.” The study analyzes how the leaders of the Kameradenkreis have changed their attitudes towards the Wehrmacht war crimes.

Keywords: Germany; military traditions; veteran culture; antifascist movements; war crimes; wehrmacht; mountain troops association

DOI: 10.14712/23363231.2015.76