"Unsere Frage ist der Osten": representations of the occupied East in German soldier newspapers, 1914-1918
LTReikšminiai žodžiai: I Pasaulinis karas; Periodinė spauda; Rasinės teorijos; Rytų Europos šalys (Eastern Europe states); Tautos; Vokietijos fronto periodika; Vokiečių okupacija; Eastern Europe; German Soldier Newspapers; German occupation; I World War; Nations; Periodicals; Racial theories; World War I.
ENAlthough the First World War had been justified to the Citizens of Germany as 'defensive' in character, the Landser found himself almost everywhere on foreign soil, occupying and Controlling local, frequently hostile populations. The tone of the German western front newspapers was a mixed blend of justification and sympathy. The ruination of war provided the opportunity at times to depict a seemingly dirty and primitive people in dire need of German assistance and this, combined with explications of the 'Urhaß' of the French for the Germans, was a way of justifying occupation to the soldiers. The audience and authors believed, however, that they were dealing with a people very much like themselves, both culturally and in terms of technical and civil 'progress'. Hence, through the veneer of chauvinism, there were many examples of pity and understanding for the occupied populations in France and Flanders as mostly innocent victims of war. [Extract, p. 500]
