ABSTRACT
The chapter begins with a review of the dilemmas inherent in the Germans’ search for “too much” or “too little” identity over the last century. It considers the elite attitudes and mass orientations across three generations, both of which focus on the dynamics of Verjjangenheitsbewaltijjunjj, that is, on efforts to come to terms with the National-Socialist past. The treatment of national consciousness and German identity in the Federal Republic of Germany, Erwin Scheuch wrote in 1984, evinces many of the qualities associated with the traditionally loved/feared Loch Ness monster. Social-liberal members of this generation openly rejected policies requiring memorization of all three verses of the national anthem in the schools, a “ludicrous,” “painfully embarrassing,” and “regressive” strategy for instilling historical consciousness among youth. The 1980s, by contrast, stand out as a decade of sometimes overly ambitious reconciliation with its own national-historical symbols.
