German Identity

The German identity changed rapidly during the 20th century. Germans found themselves constantly having to change their self-image and concept, as the world around them changed and forced them to alter their perceptions of identity. From its earliest history, the people who viewed themselves as Germanic have been resilient in their path to finding a unified identity, and encountered many small steps along the way that slowly constructed the idea of "German". With the unification of Germany in 1871, this journey took a very sudden leap forward. Suddenly, an area that was once comprised of a number of small, independent kingdoms became a unified nation under a monarch. For the Germans, this created a new sense of belonging because for the first time in their history they were united as one nation. This sense of pride was challenged when World War I broke out. When Germany was on the losing side of the war, it truly crushed the people's self-concept. Furthermore, the severe punishment set forth by the Treaty of Versailles only made the situation worse. As the "aggressors", Germany was forced to pay heavy reparations and soon found itself completely bankrupt. The resulting hyper-inflation that plagued the Weimar Republic greatly damaged the nation's sense of pride and one resounding cry was, "If we are so great, then why are things so bad?"  The resulting effect was that Germans lost faith in both their government and themselves, meaning that once again, Germans were struggling to find an identity. Before, they could look to the head of the monarchy as symbol of German values and integrity, but with how poorly things were going in the country at the time, they could not look to their new democratic government with the same feeling. As a result, they begin looking for other sources of unification.

German soldiers in World War I. 

Hyper inflation in the Weimar Republic made paper money worthless. 

          Adolf Hitler recognized the Germans’ anger with the government for the war and for how poorly things were, and focused his rise to power on those ideas. For the Germans, having a new source of inspiration to look at as a symbol of German identity caused many to regain hope in the country. It wasn’t so much that they necessarily agreed with everything Hitler said, but having blamed assigned to a group for all of Germany’s problems was easy to along with. Germans in the 1930s were not bad people; they were just desperate for someone to solve their problems. The rise of the Third Reich once again restored the Germans faith in themselves and their country, and made them proud once again to be Germans. It’s easy for us to condemn them nearly a century later, but considering everything they had gone through it’s understandable—scary, but understandable.

Adolf Hitler's passionate speeches captivated many. 

Hundreds of thousands came out for his rallies. 

          Once again, war destroyed the Germans sense of identity. After World War II, however, things were much worse. Extreme loss of life and the destruction of their country, along with the psychological effects of losing another war, caused Germans to feel completely lost and abandoned. Literature of the time reflected this notion, noticeably in what was known as “debris literature”, which reflected both the physical and mental destruction of Germany. It wasn’t until the early 1950s that the country was able to start improving, and even then had to deal with the founding of East Germany.

Entire cities were completely destroyed during World War II. 

          Even in modern times, German identity is still being forged. Since the fall of Hitler and the Third Reich, patriotism and outward national pride have been avoided, so not to make the same mistakes again. As a result, German identity is still very difficult to define. But even though the Germans may not demonstrate their national identity the same way we might do so in America—flag waving, chanting, singing, etc.—they still have sense of pride that cannot be ignored. By taking ownership for their past and accepting the responsibility as a nation, Germany has demonstrated perhaps the most important qualities of their national identity.