German Memorials, Motifs, and Meanings : A Cultural History in Bronze, Wood, and Stone

German Memorials, Motifs, and Meanings offers a unique cultural history of German memorialization.The book focuses not on a single, isolated era, but rather on enduring memorial motifs-enchanted stones, magical trees, raised fists, stone circles, and similar evocative symbols derived from myth, folklore, Christianity, national iconography, and post-Holocaust imagery.It thus takes a long-duration perspective, sweeping across the centuries to explore abiding themes such as death, rebirth, and redemption; violence and reconciliation; and sacrifice, identity, and community.Along with a consideration of the historical and social circumstances of each memorial and its motifs, author Jennifer Hansen-Glucklich answers the questions of why and how these cultural markers survive the passage of time and how they endure amidst cultural, social, and political upheavals that include the rise and fall of empires, catastrophes of war and occupation, and genesis of new national identities.She uniquely