Provides the first comprehensive analysis of the history of returning German POWs after the Second World War, explored as a history of memory both during Germany's division and after unification.

Introduction: Writing the History of Returnees
Depicting Returnees: Contested Mass-Media Representations in East and West Germany
Negotiating Victim Status: The Presence of the Past in Compensation Debates
Giving Meaning to the Past: Narratives of Transformation and Conversion
Interacting with the Past: Memory Projects of Returnees
Epilogue: Transmitting Memories-Shaping Postwar Presents
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography
Index