Arminius the Liberator

Martin M. Winkler is University Professor and Professor of Classics at George Mason University. He is the author or editor of several books and has published many articles on Roman literature, the classical tradition, and especially classics and cinema.

• List of Illustrations ; Adages ; Preface ; Acknowledgments ; Introduction: History, Myth, Media ; History as Myth and Ideology ; The Fate of History in the Time of the Image ; I. From History to Myth to Ideology ; 1. Origins of Myth: Arminius in Ancient Literature and in German Scholarship ; a. Ancient Historians and Poets ; b. Modern Historians ; 2. Backgrounds to Twentieth-Century Ideology ; a. Theme and Variations: Arminius from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Centuries ; b. Arminius' Largest Monument: The Hermannsdenkmal ; 3. Arminius in National Socialism ; a. From Nationalism to National Socialism ; b. Arminius Conscripted into <"Break-Through Battle>" ; c. Arminius and Hitler ; d. Excursus: Hitler as Coriolanus ; II. Ideological Victories: The Defeat of Varus on the German Screen ; 4. Nationalism at a Boil: Die Hermannschlacht ; a. Arminius' First Screen Appearance ; b. Patriotic Poetry at the Premiere ; c. <"Hail Arminius! Savior of Germany!>" ; d. Contemporary Reactions ; e. Critical Assessment ; 5. National Socialism: Romans and Germans in Ewiger Wald ; a. Cinema for the Volk ; b. The German Forest Defeats Rome ; c. Homo cinematicus et ideologicus Views History ; III. The Death and Resurrection of Ideology ; 6. Historical Myth on Screen in the 1960s: With and Without Ideology ; a. Romans and Barbarians ; b. The Liberator Liberated from Ideology: Il massacro della foresta nera ; 7. Against Ideology: History Exorcised ; a. Anselm Kiefer and the Cleansing of Myth ; b. Claus Peymann: The Empty World ; c. Arminius on the Postmodern Screen: Die Hermannsschlacht ; d. Background: Hermann and Tacitus in German Humor ; e. Screen Comedy: Hermann the Bavarian and the Fall of Rome ; 8. After Ideology: History as Infotainment ; a. Home Schooling: History Lessons on Television ; b. Armin's Arminius: History for Kids ; c. Sir Arminius, the Toff ; 9. History Without Ideology: Media and Spectacle ; a. Parallel Heroic Narratives: Novels and Films ; b. Will Arminius Conquer the Screen Again? ; c. Arminius Animated ; 10. Arminius in the New World ; a. George Washington as American Arminius ; b. Arminius and White Supremacy ; Appendices ; 1. The Chief Ancient Accounts of the Defeat of Varus ; a. Velleius Paterculus, Compendium of Roman History 2.117.2-120.5 ; b. Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2.30 [4.12.29-39] ; c. Cassius Dio, Roman History 56.19-22.2 ; 2. The Lyrics of Die alten Deutschen ; 3. Paul Warncke, Vorspruch zum Hermannsfilm ; 4. The Main Texts of the Program Book for Die Hermannschlacht ; 5. Two Poems Addressing Hitler During His Election Campaign ; 6. The Nazi-Era Lyrics of Gab's darum eine Hermannschlacht? ; 7. Text Excerpts: Hermann and the Hitler Youth ; Bibliography ; Index

The book is very well organised, well written, nicely illustrated and a pleasure to read. It provides a comprehensive overview of ways in which the story of Arminius has been understood and transformed for many different purposes from the sixteenth century to today.