Jeremy DeWaal, Geographies of Renewal: Heimat and Democracy in West Germany, 1945-1990 – Cambridge University Press, January 2025

New Books discussion with Jenna Pittman – thanks to dmf for the link

The term ‘Heimat’, referring to a local sense of home and belonging, has been the subject of much scholarly and popular debate following the fall of the Third Reich. Countering the persistent myth that Heimat was a taboo and unusable term immediately after 1945, Geographies of Renewal uncovers overlooked efforts in the aftermath of the Second World War to conceive of Heimat in more democratic, inclusive, and pro-European modes. It revises persistent misconceptions of Heimat as either tainted or as a largely reactionary idea, revealing some surprisingly early identifications between home and democracy. Jeremy DeWaal further traces the history of efforts to eliminate the concept, which first emerged during the Cold War crisis of the early 1960s and reassesses why so many on the political left sought to re-engage with Heimat in the 1970s and 1980s. This revisionist history intervenes in larger contemporary debates, asking compelling questions surrounding the role of the local, the value of community, and the politics of place attachments. 

• Considers Heimat as actual places of home, providing a new perspective from works which have focused on Heimat as a literary or cinematic trope
• Situates debates surrounding Heimat within broader scholarly questions about home and place attachment
• Draws on a wide range of sources, and a diverse range of local and regional case studies