Contemporary Ideas in a Traditional Mind-Set: The Nature Conservation Movement in Post War West-Germany (1945-1960)

In winter 1947 the Association for the Protection of the German Forest wasfounded to prevent the eradication of the forest across Germany after sufferingwartime destruction, overuse and firewood logging. Especially the occupyingforces faced harsh criticism from the German people for their widespread...

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Main Author: Astrid Mignon Kirchhof
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: European Association for the Study of Literature, Culture and the Environment; Universidad de Alcalá de Henares 2011-01-01
Series:Ecozon@
Online Access:http://www.ecozona.eu/index.php/journal/article/view/146/385
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spelling doaj-11db6ab6396b4c6ea16e9220a891bb692020-11-24T22:59:07ZdeuEuropean Association for the Study of Literature, Culture and the Environment; Universidad de Alcalá de HenaresEcozon@2171-95942011-01-01213447Contemporary Ideas in a Traditional Mind-Set: The Nature Conservation Movement in Post War West-Germany (1945-1960)Astrid Mignon KirchhofIn winter 1947 the Association for the Protection of the German Forest wasfounded to prevent the eradication of the forest across Germany after sufferingwartime destruction, overuse and firewood logging. Especially the occupyingforces faced harsh criticism from the German people for their widespreaddeforestation even though it seems that the Allied Powers used the woodresources quite responsibly. This article argues that the uproar by natureconservationists, politicians and “normal people” reflected a German sense ofpowerlessness, and revealed images and convictions of the forest as a nationalsymbol that was supposedly endangered in post-war Germany. These post-wardiscussions referred back to the discourse of the 19th century, when Germanintellectuals declared the forest to be the myth of the German people anddeveloped a notion of “Heimat” that saw a close connection between nation andnature. The post-war discussions involved many of those images andconvictions. Nevertheless, the discussions were not only retrospective: they alsoreacted to the contemporary political situation and adapted their answers andsolutions accordingly.http://www.ecozona.eu/index.php/journal/article/view/146/385
collection DOAJ
language deu
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Astrid Mignon Kirchhof
spellingShingle Astrid Mignon Kirchhof
Contemporary Ideas in a Traditional Mind-Set: The Nature Conservation Movement in Post War West-Germany (1945-1960)
Ecozon@
author_facet Astrid Mignon Kirchhof
author_sort Astrid Mignon Kirchhof
title Contemporary Ideas in a Traditional Mind-Set: The Nature Conservation Movement in Post War West-Germany (1945-1960)
title_short Contemporary Ideas in a Traditional Mind-Set: The Nature Conservation Movement in Post War West-Germany (1945-1960)
title_full Contemporary Ideas in a Traditional Mind-Set: The Nature Conservation Movement in Post War West-Germany (1945-1960)
title_fullStr Contemporary Ideas in a Traditional Mind-Set: The Nature Conservation Movement in Post War West-Germany (1945-1960)
title_full_unstemmed Contemporary Ideas in a Traditional Mind-Set: The Nature Conservation Movement in Post War West-Germany (1945-1960)
title_sort contemporary ideas in a traditional mind-set: the nature conservation movement in post war west-germany (1945-1960)
publisher European Association for the Study of Literature, Culture and the Environment; Universidad de Alcalá de Henares
series Ecozon@
issn 2171-9594
publishDate 2011-01-01
description In winter 1947 the Association for the Protection of the German Forest wasfounded to prevent the eradication of the forest across Germany after sufferingwartime destruction, overuse and firewood logging. Especially the occupyingforces faced harsh criticism from the German people for their widespreaddeforestation even though it seems that the Allied Powers used the woodresources quite responsibly. This article argues that the uproar by natureconservationists, politicians and “normal people” reflected a German sense ofpowerlessness, and revealed images and convictions of the forest as a nationalsymbol that was supposedly endangered in post-war Germany. These post-wardiscussions referred back to the discourse of the 19th century, when Germanintellectuals declared the forest to be the myth of the German people anddeveloped a notion of “Heimat” that saw a close connection between nation andnature. The post-war discussions involved many of those images andconvictions. Nevertheless, the discussions were not only retrospective: they alsoreacted to the contemporary political situation and adapted their answers andsolutions accordingly.
url http://www.ecozona.eu/index.php/journal/article/view/146/385
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