Political Myth and Germany 1945–1949

Political scientists point to a shift in myth reception after 1945. This is most vividly reflected in the German context. In the years of the Allied occupation, the necessary exposure of Third Reich political mythology coincided with the introduction into German debate of the mythmaking of the Cold War. The result was a uniquely diverse collection of narratives of political elucidation, historical explanation and propaganda. All the various categories for classification as myth are demonstrated: myths of the self, of the other, myths of the nation, the state, leadership, myths of past, present or future determination. And subsequent general theories of political myth as broadly defined forms of community identification, as unifying historical messages, or as expressions of past or planned aggression, are similarly illustrated. Also significantly validated in this context is the affinity of myth theory and theology. This article confirms the usefulness of myth analysis in assessing responses to value structures, delimiting political control, and refining our awareness of the constituents of political ‘reality’; yet it also exposes the inadequacy, in the political domain, of any one definition of myth theory, and highlights our ongoing complicity in political mythmaking, specifically in the case of Germany.