Ned Richardson-Little, Samuel Merrill, and Leah Arlaud has recently published an article about how the German radical-right populist party the Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland) and its politicians have engaged with the public memory of the East German past via Twitter. The article focuses on mnemonic wars over four particular events in East German history: the East German Uprising (1953); the construction (1961) and fall (1989) of the Berlin Wall; and German reunification (1990). In the article they explore when and how Twitter became a platform for these events’ political commemoration and the role of the Alternative für Deutschland therein.
ABSTRACT
This article examines how the German radical-right populist party the Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland) and its politicians have engaged with the public memory of the East German past via Twitter and how this has impacted the use of social media as a tool of political commemoration in Germany. The article analyses the mnemonic wars over ‘anniversary tweets’ related to four events: the East German Uprising (1953); the construction (1961) and fall (1989) of the Berlin Wall; and German reunification (1990). The article surveys when and how Twitter became a platform for these events’ political commemoration and the role of the Alternative für Deutschland therein. It also outlines the mnemonic discourses that the Alternative für Deutschland has deployed on Twitter around these events’ anniversaries and explores the sorts of digital contestation and transnationalization evident at these times.[More]
Samuel Merrill is an Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, Umeå University, specializing in digital and cultural sociology. His research interests centre on social movements, collective memory, cultural heritage and digital media.
Read more about DIGSUM’s research group on Digital Sociology [here].