Review of Select Previous Research

Abstract

The complex sequence of events that led to the Holocaust, the rise and subsequent fall of the Third Reich, and the founding of the German Democratic Republic and its ultimate collapse have been the subject of many debates and discussions within and outside of Germany. The approaches that deal explicitly with the topic of National Socialism, the Holocaust and/or the GDR range from historical representations, survivor accounts, sociological, philosophical, political, and psychological analyses to cultural representations including music, film, art, memorials, museums, literature, and poetry. In terms of academic examination and inquiry, the number of contributions and publications that focus on research related to the Holocaust, Nazi Germany, and/or the SED dictatorship, be it on a theoretical, philosophical, or empirical level, is so vast that even attempting to cover all research in these areas would by far exceed the scope of this research project.¹ In this chapter, I will therefore concentrate on reviewing a select number of contributions that lay the groundwork for the development of the theory of action consciousness and that are particularly relevant for validating the main hypotheses outlined in Chapter 2. Although the range and scope of previously published concepts and approaches exceed what is necessary for this work, the following subchapters explicate relevant research and theories for the understanding of history didactics even though they may not address the need to complement historical consciousness with an action component.