defestival1-8, Exercise 3: Remembrance in Germany and Britain

Model answer (check the details):

Germany, Volkstrauertag: the dead of both world wars and victims of violence and tyranny, with a ceremony in the Bundestag and wreaths at war graves, in mid-November. It began after the First World War, was turned into a "heroes' day" by the Nazis, and was redefined after 1945.

Germany, 27 January: the victims of National Socialism, including Jews, Sinti and Roma, political prisoners, disabled people, homosexuals and others. Marked with a Bundestag ceremony, school visits and memorial-site events, on the date Auschwitz was liberated.

Britain, Remembrance Sunday: the dead of the two world wars and later conflicts, marked on the Sunday nearest 11 November with poppies, the two-minute silence and a ceremony at the Cenotaph in London. Mostly service personnel and, increasingly, civilians.

What each shows:
- Britain's day sits within a story of victory and sacrifice, with questions about militarism and who is included.
- Germany has two kinds of day: one for its own war dead, which carries the problem of honouring soldiers who fought for a criminal regime, and one for the victims of that regime, which carries guilt and responsibility.
- Germany's days are more restrained, with fewer symbols such as the poppy.