The M.S. Wilhelm Gustloff in German Memory Culture: A Case Study on Competing Discourses.

摘要

The sinking of the German M.S. Wilhelm Gustloff in the Bay of Danzig on January 30, 1945 is by many accounts the deadliest maritime disaster in recorded history. Although the ship was a valid military target within the context of World War II, most of the passengers were German civilians fleeing the Soviet advance. For many years, the survivors and their advocates argued that a focus on National Socialism and the Holocaust had complicated and politicized any attempts at publicly remembering and mourning the Gustloff in Germany. Recently, however, the ship has received increased attention in German high and popular culture, leading many to claim that a taboo has been broken. The dissertation investigates the shifts in textual and audio-visual representation of the Gustloff from the time of its sinking to the present in an attempt to locate and understand this cultural phenomenon within the greater context of a society perpetually coming to terms with its dark past.