The Myth of the Eastern Front: The Nazi-Soviet War in American Popular Culture
"Ronald Smelser and Edward Davies vividly show how the pernicious idea of an honorable German war on the Eastern Front permeated the American consciousness with devastating consequences not only for the broad understanding of German atrocities in the East, but ultimately for the Cold War itself. From its lucid discussion of the former Hitler generals who whitewashed their military records after World War II to its disturbing look at the self-proclaimed gurus of army minutia who still pose as authorities on the Wehrmacht, The Myth of the Eastern Front is a masterful and incisive combination of military and cultural history."-Norman J.W. Goda, Ohio University"The swiftness with which Cold War America embraced vanquished Nazi officers, along with their sanitization of Wehrmacht criminality on the Eastern Front, is a chilling reminder of how historical memory often follows the flag.  Ronald Smelser and Edward Davies have performed a signal service in bringing to light the internet's perpetuation of self-serving myths about World War Two. Whether Waffen-SS reenactors and Nazibilia collectors represent harmless playacting or something more sinister only time will tell.  But anything that traffics in half-truths, and worse, especially concerning matters of grave moral concern, can't be taken lightly."-Lawrence N. Powell, Tulane University"A superb and insightful study of the premeditated manipulation of history and memory in the fabrication of the myth of a "clean Wehrmacht."  Expertly exposes the intersection and influence of popular imagination, politics, and popular culture in the rewriting of the German army's experience in World War Two."Edward B. Westermann, author of Hitler's Police Battalions: Enforcing Racial War in the East"Recommended." -Choice"Smelser and Davies need to be commended for their fascinating and detailed study." -Journal of American History, Gerd Horten