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E-book
Author Gallagher, Patrick, 1979- author.

Title Traumatic defeat : POWs, MIAs, and national mythmaking / Patrick Gallagher
Published Lawrence, Kansas : University Press of Kansas, [2018]

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Description 1 online resource
Contents Germany's war on the Eastern Front, and the origins of its secret camp myth -- The short-lived German secret camp myth -- Missing Americans in Southeast Asia and the origins of POW/MIA activism -- Radicalization of POW/MIA advocacy and the emergence of the secret camp myth -- High-water mark of the secret camp myth -- Conclusion
Summary "Traumatic Defeat is a comparative study of wartime and postwar Prisoner of War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) activism and politics in Germany after World War II and the US after the Vietnam War. Patrick Gallagher argues that under certain circumstances, a postwar form of national mythology develops, derived from POW/MIA activism and the belief that substantial numbers of MIAs continue to survive in secret captivity after war's end. He refers to this phenomenon as the "secret camp myth," after the covert facilities in which these missing men supposedly survive. Gallagher demonstrates that these two parallel cases of national trauma over prisoners and the missing demonstrate how wars can breed mythologies that, if not satisfied, can take on lives of their own and come to dominate national conversations on the history of warfare, aftermath, and defeat."--Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Prisoners of war -- Germany -- History -- 20th century
Loss (Psychology) -- Political aspects -- Case studies
War -- Psychological aspects -- Case studies
Conspiracy theories -- Case studies
Collective memory -- Case studies
World War, 1939-1945 -- Missing in action -- Germany
World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, Russian
Prisoners of war -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Prisoners and prisons, North Vietnamese.
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Missing in action -- United States
HISTORY -- Military -- Vietnam War.
Collective memory
Conspiracy theories
Missing in action
Prisoners of war
War -- Psychological aspects
Germany
United States
Genre/Form Case studies
History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780700626458
070062645X
Other Titles Prisoners of war, missing in action and national mythmaking
POWs, MIAs, and national mythmaking