Revisiting Prussia's Wars against Napoleon
History, Culture, and Memory

This book explores the history and the construction of memory in Prussia's and Germany's anti-Napoleonic wars of 1806–15.

Karen Hagemann (Author), Pamela Selwyn (Translated by)

9780521152303, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 30 March 2015

497 pages, 3 b/w illus. 4 maps
22.7 x 15.3 x 2.7 cm, 0.72 kg

'Hagemann thus has created nothing less than a full-blown analysis of the rise of the German nation - and the idea of that nation - over the course of a century. Her vision is inherently political, but political in a manner that contrasts with what we traditionally consider political history. … Revisiting Prussia's Wars against Napoleon presents a new analysis of nineteenth-century history, advances a manifesto and program for memory studies, and subtly critiques current historiographical trends. Hagemann has crafted a nuanced, judicious, and convincing picture of Prussian history that makes a substantial contribution to what one might call the 'new Prussian history' as represented by those who have criticized the Sonderweg thesis, by Clark in his Iron Kingdom, and by William Hagen in his equally brilliant Ordinary Prussians: Brandenburg Junkers and Villagers, 1500–1840 (2007).' Mary Lindeman, The American Historical Review

In 2013, Germany celebrated the bicentennial of the so-called Wars of Liberation (1813–15). These wars were the culmination of the Prussian struggle against Napoleon between 1806 and 1815, which occupied a key position in German national historiography and memory. Although these conflicts have been analyzed in thousands of books and articles, much of the focus has been on the military campaigns and alliances. Karen Hagemann argues that we cannot achieve a comprehensive understanding of these wars and their importance in collective memory without recognizing how the interaction of politics, culture, and gender influenced these historical events and continue to shape later recollections of them. She thus explores the highly contested discourses and symbolic practices by which individuals and groups interpreted these wars and made political claims, beginning with the period itself and ending with the centenary in 1913.

Prelude: war, culture and memory
Introduction: revisiting the wars against Napoleon
Part I. A History of Defeat, Crisis and Victory: 1. The defeat of 1806 and its aftermath
2. Reform and revenge: political responses
3. Liberation and restoration: the wars of 1813–15 and their legacy
Conclusion
Part II. Discourses on the Nation, War and Gender: 4. Mobilizing public opinion: propaganda, media and war
5. Defining the nation: belonging and exclusion
6. Debating war: the military, warfare and masculinity
7. Regulating participation: patriotism, citizenship and gender
Conclusion
Part III. Collective Practices of De/mobilization and Commemoration: 8. Military service: mobilizing militiamen and volunteers
9. War charity: patriotic women's associations
10. De/mobilizing society: patriotic-national celebrations and rituals
11. Honoring and commemorating war heroes: the cult of death for the fatherland
Conclusion
Part IV. Literary Market, History and War Memories: 12. Politics, market and media: the development of a culture-consuming national public
13. Inventing history: nostalgia, historiography and memory
14. Remembering the past: the Napoleonic wars in autobiographies and war memoirs
Conclusion
Part V. Novels, Memory and Politics: 15. Re-creating the past: the time of the anti-Napoleonic wars in novels
16. Hopefulness and disappointment: novels of the Restoration era and the Vormärz
17. Critique, desire and glory: novels of the Nachmärz and the German Empire
Conclusion
Epilogue: Historicizing war and memory, 2013–1813–1913.

Subject Areas: Military history [HBW], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], History [HB]