ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the concept of the German enemy in Greek public debate by building on journalistic articles, political discourse, and party documents during the period between May 2010 and June 2012 and by applying Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). It illustrates how the notion of an external enemy supplants that of an inner enemy in current Greek crisis discourse, and how this became possible due to the strong and emotionally charged memory of German occupation. Anti-German feelings were not only a result of the spontaneous resurgence of historical memory, anti-German discourse was also integrated into the political communication strategies of Greek political parties. In the context of this strategy, the economic crisis was interpreted as an ethnic crisis and the focus on an internal enemy was replaced by an external enemy. The chapter highlights the ways in which the discourse on otherness is employed in order to delegitimize policies and actors in the context of a severe crisis.
