During his political career, Helmut Kohl used his own life story to promote a normalization of German nationalism and to overcome the stigma of the Nazi period. In the context of the cold war and the memory of the fascist past, he was able to exploit the combination of his religious, generational, regional, and educational (he has a Ph D in History) experiences by connecting nationalist ideas to particular biographical narratives. Kohl presented himself as the embodiment of “normality”: a de-radicalized German nationalism which was intended to eclipse any anti-Western and post-national peculiarities. This book takes a biographical approach to the study of nationalism by examining its manifestation in Helmut Kohl and the way he historicized Germany’s past.
Table of Content
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1. Approaching Nationalism: Conceptual Frameworks
Chapter 2. Kohl as Catholic Nationalist
Chapter 3. Kohl as Liberal Nationalist
Chapter 4. Kohl as Romantic Nationalist
Chapter 5. Kohl as Nationalist Historian
Conclusion: a Synthesis of Kohl’s Personal Nationalism
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Christian Wicke is Assistant Professor in Political History at Utrecht University.
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