The legacies of the Bonn Republic and Westalgie

Molloy, Owen (2019) The legacies of the Bonn Republic and Westalgie. Masters thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Nostalgia has become a much-discussed phenomenon in recent times. Whether it be its prevalence in popular culture mediums such as film or music, or its effects on political and social developments in Western societies, nostalgia is seemingly present in most aspects of everyday life. Does this, therefore, relate to modern-day German society? This thesis will examine a specific type of nostalgia associated with the ‘old’ Federal Republic, the democratic country founded after the Second World War that ultimately changed once its political institutions extended eastwards. Otherwise known as, Westalgie, the concept can be considered a general term indicating nostalgia for features of everyday life in the FRG such as economic stability under Rhenish capitalism, political reticence in terms of foreign policy, and compounded with symbols of West German accomplishment such as the Deutschmark or the Volkswagen Beetle. This thesis will seek to explain how such a phenomenon has occurred in recent times, while also examining its impact on certain issues in the Federal Republic of Germany. Furthermore, it will compare and contrast Westalgie with the more widely acknowledged East German nostalgia, commonly referred to as Ostalgie. Academic literature concerning Westalgie is both lacking and underdeveloped, meaning this thesis will be one of the first studies to scrutinise an important and complex form of nostalgia in German society. Yet this specific type of nostalgia warrants greater investigation to help contextualise perceptions, both past and present, of the political, economic, and social developments in the Federal Republic.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of History
Depositing User:	Users 9280 not found.
Date Deposited:	05 Aug 2019 15:21
Last Modified:	05 Aug 2019 15:21
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/71891
DOI:

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