Dagmar Herzog. Sex After Fascism: Memory and Morality in Twentieth-Century Germany. Princeton:Princeton University Press, 2005. 361 S. $29.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-691-11702-7. The topics of sex and fascism -- specifically in this case speaking to post-war Germany and the effects of the Holocaust and Nazism -- seem both intricately connected and drastically separate. Yet in Dagmar Herzog's book, one can begin to connect these topics in a way that seems to make them almost inseparable. She draws connections between not only the reality of sex and politics during and after the Holocaust, but also how the memories of these things affected the reality of them. Through six chapters Herzog intricately explains each point through history that one can see the effects of social, political, and cultural memories, and how they affect the sexual reality at each of those points in time until now. In doing this, she dives deeper into historiography in a way that is not only revolutionary but also intrinsically more scholarly than if she were to simply focus on the politics and culture of Germanic history, without the sexual lens. Her greatest triumph with this book is the focus on the notion that the Holocaust, Nazism, and their effects on the country are not solely German, and by thoroughly understanding all aspects of this history, one will be able to recognize the trend that appears throughout humanity’s story, as well as today. Herzog’s success in acknowledging repetitious history in part comes from her chronological layout of Germany's experiences and memories in regards to sex surrounding World War II. The beginning of her book, in an attempt to understand the sexual environment of Germany in the very beginning of this study, Herzog focuses on how sex and sexual experiences were viewed before 1949. In this way she allows us to understand where the thoughts and memories after World War II may have come from. That is to say memories and experiences can not exist without the influence of previous reality. She nudges her audience to suggest to them that knowledge of history is the only way to prevent repetition. Each chapter begins with an exposition that easily explains to a reader who may know very little about this topic or the topic of World War II in Germany, exactly what the views were of the establishment at that time. By laying out each chapter so thoroughly, she reaches an audience that may have been unreachable were she to assume they had previous knowledge of this topic. In the very first paragraph of the first chapter Herzog states: “...sexuality in all its aspects was a major preoccupation for the regime and its supporters for the duration of the Third Reich.” In doing this, she set up the subsequent chapters, which look at the memories of this time, and how the reality of what was, seems to have been blurred in order to, however subconsciously, further the agendas of the occupations and movements that followed the Nazis. She allows the reader a look into the truth of what occurred directly next to how it was remembered, and does so by creating a timeline that is easy to follow so that the reader may come to conclusions by themselves, as opposed to Herzog having to explicitly state them. She both acknowledges the reader may have a lack of background understanding in this specific area, and yet grants the respect of letting them decipher meanings behind the research on their own. Although the first four chapters discuss the environment surrounding the public’s view and acceptance of sex, Herzog makes a step back to 1949 in chapter 5, highlighting the difference between sexual expectations and experiences in post-WWII West and East Germany. Perhaps one of the most prevalent points Herzog makes in this chapter is, as she puts it: “...just how much social, political, and economic factors shape the seemingly natural realm of sexuality.” This is important because it acknowledges that factors outside of Nazism affected the scope of sexual progression and revolution in West and East Germany. In knowing this, one can begin to piece together how that affects present societies, and how it may have been relevant to past ones. It seemed easy for the New Leftist Movement to place the blame of the Holocaust on something as simple as sexual repression, yet taking information from the first chapter, the reader can stitch together an understanding of how much capitalism and other outside forces skewed the memories of sex after the occupation of the Third Reich. Herzog’s frequent references to Michel Foucault’s explanations regarding sexuality and power further her point that although there was a strong and direct link between the hold of the Third Reich over the region, there continued to be such powerful players in Germany’s political, social, and cultural influences well after its fall. These players arguably influenced Germany’s sexuality more than the Holocaust itself. With such focus on either rectifying the past -- as West Germany did -- or trying to create an ideal future -- which was East Germany’s goal -- all parties were so focused on what was happening in the country sexually, they missed the opportunity to observe why those things might be happening. Foucault is right to associate power with sexuality, as Herzog points out frequently, acknowledging that although this as a phenomenon that has the potential to be studied of any time or place, there are hotspots, like post-war Germany, where the field of power is so much stronger than other times or places and it is important to study and understand them, in order to be speculative of one’s own society. Through her well laid-out order, and to her respect of the reader, Herzog manages to teach an audience not only important understandings of post World War II Germany, but also how to apply that knowledge to other relevant cases throughout history. Her book is an in-depth and well-researched snippet of the story of mankind and by focusing on such an Infamous event she manages to pinpoint something about humanity that has been frequently overlooked. By using the timeless lens of sexuality and the study of sexual environments Herzog takes a specific time and place and makes it universally applicable.
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