Generaloberst Walther von Brauchitsch (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres) salutes during the event of Heldengedenktag (Reich Heroes' Day) which were held in Kassel on June 4, 1939. Note that beneath the medal bars he is wearing the Goldenes Parteiabzeichen der NSDAP pin, which he received a few months earlier, on March 20, 1939. The photo was taken by Hitler's personal photographer, Hugo Jaeger. Established by the National Socialist regime in 1934 to replace the earlier Weimar-era Volkstrauertag, Heldengedenktag, or Heroes Memorial Day, served as an elaborate and tightly controlled state propaganda holiday in Nazi Germany, meticulously designed to honor fallen soldiers of the First World War and, as the conflict expanded, casualties from the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. Observed annually on the second Sunday of Lent, known as Reminiscere, the commemoration was jointly organized by the Nazi party and the armed forces, transforming solemn remembrance into a powerful ideological tool that glorified militarism, sacrifice, and the concept of the Volksgemeinschaft. High-ranking military figures, including Generalfeldmarschall and various Oberst commanders, alongside senior party officials, participated in elaborate national ceremonies held in Berlin and across occupied Europe, featuring solemn addresses, wreath-laying rituals at memorials like the Neue Wache, and synchronized tributes broadcast across public radio networks. As the war progressed and mounting casualties devastated formations such as the Heer, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine, Heldengedenktag became increasingly somber and desperate, serving less as a traditional memorial and more as a psychological mobilization mechanism to steel the German populace for total war. The most infamous observance occurred on March 21, 1943, when Adolf Hitler, accompanied by high-ranking military commanders, made a public tour of an exhibition of captured Soviet weaponry in Berlin, an event famously captured in historical photography shortly before an unsuccessful assassination attempt was planned against him during a similar ceremony the following year by officers associated with the German resistance. Following the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany in May 1945, the term and specific holiday of Heldengedenktag were permanently abandoned due to their heavy association with National Socialist militarism, eventually paving the way for the re-establishment of the more neutral and sorrowful Volkstrauertag in West Germany during the postwar era.
Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2010/10/koleksi-ratusan-foto-berwarna-dari-life.html
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/hitler-jaeger-file/AgHqWBrCXwmIxg?hl=en&ms=%7B%22x%22%3A0.7036358691921009%2C%22y%22%3A0.9019915066397572%2C%22z%22%3A10.960664328682489%2C%22size%22%3A%7B%22width%22%3A0.501103344405948%2C%22height%22%3A0.18948479603129995%7D%7D
No comments:
Post a Comment