Über das Buch
Denazification 2.0
At home and abroad, Germany sells a narrative of being the country that has truly overcome an atrocious history. The world, it seems, looks to Germany for inspiration for dealing with historic crimes like slavery, colonialism, and genocide.
The narrative of modern Germany consists of three myths:
- That Denazification removed the burden of Nazism from every aspect of German society and left behind a progressive democracy engaged for human rights.
- That Germans have internalized the process of working through the Nazi past and deal personally and institutionally with the crimes of the Holocaust.
- That the Economic Miracle of post-war Germany was primarily driven by German hard work and ingenuity.
This book follows the money to challenge the deceptions of “reparations” and of Denazification itself, showing these myths for what they are: convenient propaganda that allows the German public to ignore the basis of their privilege. The fact is, the German economy, German society itself, is still built on the profits of the Holocaust, on the Nazi war machine and slave labor, and on the thefts of Jewish assets through Aryanization, one of “the greatest property reallocations of modern times”. Not content just to show what Germany gets wrong, Nazis All the Way Down also gives examples of countries and movements doing far better at overcoming the past, and proposes a solution that could truly make Germany a model for dealing with the past.
What Others Are Saying About Nazis All The Way Down:
“… a powerful and unflinchingly courageous work that promises to force a much needed rethink on meaning of denazification. … [T]he book has relevance for nations globally confronting the rise of populist far-right movements. Nazis All the Way Down demolishes the wall between corporate complicity (and financial benefits) and extremist politics. In calling for a “denazification 2.0,” Gallant and Gallant offer a stunning but appropriate resolution: redistribution of ill-gotten rewards to build a better and more equitable Germany. I strongly recommend this work to scholars, policy-makers, social justice leaders, and anyone concerned with continuing and expanding the struggle for a just and fair world.
Professor Clarence Lusane, Howard University, author of The Black History of the White House & Hitler’s Black Victims
„As a child of Holocaust refugees and survivors who have received restitution from Germany, I find this to be the most significant new perspective on the Holocaust in many years. Nearly 80 years after the collapse of Third Reich, Gallant & Gallant have managed to cut through the post-war propaganda to reveal that the considerable and continuous profits of the Nazi genocide actually form the basis of Germany’s privileged lifestyle to this day.“
Rebecca Lillian, Rabbi of congregations Sukkat Shalom (Stockholm) & Shir Hatzafon (Copenhagen)
„Gallant & Gallant show starkly the injustice inherent in today’s Germany and put together a realistic roadmap for reparations. The way forward will be lit by the bridges that they have burned.“
Sarah Jones, senior writer for New York magazine, author of The Sin-Eaters
Entnazifizierung 2.0
In Deutschland ist das alltägliche Leben, einschließlich Unternehmen, Verbänden, Kommunalverwaltungen, Parks, Schulen, Kirchen und Medien, immer noch von den Nazi-Verbrechen belastet, die im öffentlichen Bewusstsein nicht anerkannt werden. Das sagen Zachary und Katharina F. Gallant, die die derzeitige deutsche Praxis des Gedenkens an die Verbrechen des Nationalsozialismus kritisieren, weil sie die Stimmen und die Handlungsfähigkeit der Opfergruppen ausgeklammert. In ihrem Buch fordern sie eine „Entnazifizierung 2.0“, die darin besteht, das Vermögen der deutschen Unternehmen und Familien zu enteignen, die direkt mit den Naziverbrechen in Verbindung gebracht werden können, um dieses enteignete Kapital zur Bewältigung der dringendsten Katastrophen unserer Zeit einzusetzen.