Malcolm Hilgartner

When someone lifted the remains of a Wehrmacht soldier, a doll fell onto the ground, perhaps belonging to the dead man's daughter. The workers carefully accumulated bones, then sent them away in labeled crates. Where the van Binnegans had pictured a garden, or maybe a swimming pool, there was now only a series of mounds. The final body count was staggering. 128 people.

When someone lifted the remains of a Wehrmacht soldier, a doll fell onto the ground, perhaps belonging to the dead man's daughter. The workers carefully accumulated bones, then sent them away in labeled crates. Where the van Binnegans had pictured a garden, or maybe a swimming pool, there was now only a series of mounds. The final body count was staggering. 128 people.

Staggering, but at least for the Volksmund, not exactly surprising. Europe in some ways is a vast cemetery littered with the remains of two world wars that killed, by conservative estimates, some 56.5 million people. Many simply vanished into the rubble, while others were hastily buried in unmarked graves.

Staggering, but at least for the Volksmund, not exactly surprising. Europe in some ways is a vast cemetery littered with the remains of two world wars that killed, by conservative estimates, some 56.5 million people. Many simply vanished into the rubble, while others were hastily buried in unmarked graves.

As countries rebuilt after the war, most of these killing fields were simply paved over as Europeans sought to turn a new page, leaving the daunting task of finding the dead for future generations. Many countries around the world have an organization like the Volksbund.

As countries rebuilt after the war, most of these killing fields were simply paved over as Europeans sought to turn a new page, leaving the daunting task of finding the dead for future generations. Many countries around the world have an organization like the Volksbund.

But nowhere is this work more fraught than in Germany, where memory and forgetting are constantly bound up in a struggle to confront or avoid a guilt that was so vast that many references to the country's nationalist past remain taboo even today. Germany is a place where the flag is rarely waved outside soccer games, and giving the Nazi salute can be punished with a prison sentence.

But nowhere is this work more fraught than in Germany, where memory and forgetting are constantly bound up in a struggle to confront or avoid a guilt that was so vast that many references to the country's nationalist past remain taboo even today. Germany is a place where the flag is rarely waved outside soccer games, and giving the Nazi salute can be punished with a prison sentence.

Germany's response in the lead-up to the Russia-Ukraine war was hampered because it didn't want to be seen as a military force. Yet even as the country has sought to avoid reminders of its history, the remains of that past keep turning up. The war graves of 8,000 to 12,000 Germans are uncovered each year.

Germany's response in the lead-up to the Russia-Ukraine war was hampered because it didn't want to be seen as a military force. Yet even as the country has sought to avoid reminders of its history, the remains of that past keep turning up. The war graves of 8,000 to 12,000 Germans are uncovered each year.

Bones have been uncovered by excavators digging parking garages in German villages and by telephone workers laying fiber-optic cable where battles took place in the 1940s. At the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, soldiers outside Kiev were digging trenches when they came across the skeleton of a man.

Bones have been uncovered by excavators digging parking garages in German villages and by telephone workers laying fiber-optic cable where battles took place in the 1940s. At the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, soldiers outside Kiev were digging trenches when they came across the skeleton of a man.

He was a German soldier who died during the last war fought there, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union some 80 years before. Complicating matters is the rise of the far right in Europe and around the world.

He was a German soldier who died during the last war fought there, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union some 80 years before. Complicating matters is the rise of the far right in Europe and around the world.

For the first time since World War II, extremist parties have become ascendant across the region, and in places like Italy, Austria, Hungary, and the Netherlands, these movements mirror, and in some cases trace their roots directly to, the fascist groups that triggered the war.

For the first time since World War II, extremist parties have become ascendant across the region, and in places like Italy, Austria, Hungary, and the Netherlands, these movements mirror, and in some cases trace their roots directly to, the fascist groups that triggered the war.

In Germany, the charge is being led by the Alternative for Germany Party, or AFD, which in February's snap election became the second largest party in Parliament, nearly doubling its seats there. AFD has reshaped the German discourse on issues like immigration and climate change, but it is the party's approach to the old taboos of the war that have collided most squarely with German norms.

In Germany, the charge is being led by the Alternative for Germany Party, or AFD, which in February's snap election became the second largest party in Parliament, nearly doubling its seats there. AFD has reshaped the German discourse on issues like immigration and climate change, but it is the party's approach to the old taboos of the war that have collided most squarely with German norms.

AFD leaders now denigrate what they call a cult of guilt around how the Nazi past is taught in schools, and they have reached out to figures of the American right for help. Before the February election, the tech billionaire Elon Musk stumped for the AFD after giving a Nazi-style salute at President Trump's inauguration.

AFD leaders now denigrate what they call a cult of guilt around how the Nazi past is taught in schools, and they have reached out to figures of the American right for help. Before the February election, the tech billionaire Elon Musk stumped for the AFD after giving a Nazi-style salute at President Trump's inauguration.