Kyle Starkey has just earned his PhD in History and we wanted to share his important dissertation information. Congratulations Kyle!
Kyle’s dissertation examines the history and development of the Verband der Heimkehrer (VdH), a West German organization representing former prisoners of war (POWs) from its founding in 1950 to its dissolution in 2006. While previous scholarship has primarily focused on the organization’s political leadership and negotiations with the West German state, this study shifts attention to the micro-level experiences of ordinary members and local branches. It argues that the VdH’s culture, collective memory, and political influence were not solely directed from above by organizational leaders but were actively shaped from below through the participation of Heimkehrer communities across West and reunified Germany.
Using a microhistorical approach, the dissertation demonstrates how local branches contributed to the construction of Heimkehrer identity, memory, and activism while simultaneously supporting broader political campaigns for compensation and recognition. The study also extends existing scholarship beyond the 1960s by analyzing the organization’s later decades, including its transition toward a European orientation in the 1970s, its struggles with generational decline in the 1980s and 1990s, the effects of German reunification, and the challenges posed by changing historical interpretations of the Second World War, particularly following the Wehrmachtsausstellung debates. Ultimately, the dissertation argues that understanding postwar German veteran culture requires attention to grassroots participation and local agency, revealing the VdH as a far more complex organization than previously understood.a career defined by intellectual curiosity, service and dedication.