 Book cover of The Myth of the Eastern Front; image adopted from cover art of the 1987 wargame The Last Victory: Von Manstein's Backhand Blow, February–March 1943, which depicts the Third Battle of Kharkov | |
| Author | Ronald Smelser and Edward J. Davies |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | History, historiography |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Publication date | 2008 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 978-0-521-83365-3 |
The Myth of the Eastern Front: The Nazi–Soviet War in American Popular Culture (2008) by Ronald Smelser and Edward J. Davies, is a historical analysis of the post-war myth of the "Clean Wehrmacht", the negative impact of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS mythologies in popular culture, and the effects of historical negationism upon cultural perceptions of the Eastern Front of the Second World War.
The book garnered largely positive reviews. It was commended for its thorough analysis of the creation of the myth by German ex-participants and its entry into American culture, as well as its compelling analysis of contemporary war-romancing trends. One reviewer described the book as a "tour de force of cultural historiography",[1] and another observed that it "presents a discomforting portrait of the American views of the Eastern Front".[2]
- ^ House 2008.
- ^ Alpers 2008, p. 1578.