“A Living Memorial for the Edelweißpiraten”: Musical Memories of Cologne’s Anti-Hitler Youth

This article explores music as a medium of memory of anti-Nazi resistance looking at the Edelweißpiratenfestival, its connected events and multimedia publications. It explores how the festival provides platforms for the transgenerational transmission of memory, secures the continuing presence of the Edelweißpiraten's voices, and represents their ideals and spirit. It considers music’s roles as object and agent of memory, probes how music’s experiential and affective potential enables diverse agents to link past and present experiences, and shows how the memory plays into contemporary controversial issues in Germany and is used to counter racism and to promote an inclusive society.