Without michel
Ohnemichel is derived from a play on words: composed of “without” and “me”, whereby the personal pronoun me is lengthened to “Michel” and thus ties in with the image of the German Michel , a national personification of the Germans that emerged in the early modern period is almost only used in caricatures today.
The term Ohnemichel was created from 1958 as a derogatory term for a rearmament critic and conscientious objector in the young Federal Republic of Germany . Propagandistically, the term tried to support the rearmament of West Germany and the reintroduction of general conscription in response to the Without Me movement . This had formed as the first pacifist protest movement in the Federal Republic in the first half of the 1950s. It was a very effective social movement because of the postwar German anti-militarism that was widespread in response to the war .
In a figurative sense, the term was also used as an ironic, derogatory term for
- a coward or slacker ,
- a withdrawn private citizen who shows indifference to the community,
- an unsteady and senseless person,
- a non-voter or politically disenchanted citizen.
In 1964, the action provoked common sense with the figure "Mr. Ohnemichel" and called for more civic engagement. This was one of the most successful campaigns of this non-partisan citizens' initiative.
In connection with Germany's European policy , the term was taken up again in 2011 - in the modification of `` no-nonsense '' - by the sociologist Ulrich Beck and applied to the political action of an entire government.
literature
- The "Without-Michel" and the beginnings of public relations work in defense matters . In: Thorsten Loch: The face of the Bundeswehr. Communication strategies in the voluntary recruitment of the Bundeswehr. 1956 to 1989 . Oldenbourg, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-486-58396-0 , pp. 110-132.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans-Heinrich Jörgensen: “Without me!” State and society - what do they concern me? ( Memento of the original from July 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Series of publications by the Federal Board of the Young Socialists, 1964, accessed on October 22, 2013
- ↑ Secret Sense. The ghost without Michel . In: Die Zeit Nr. 45, November 8, 1963, accessed on October 22, 2013.
- ↑ Action common sense ( Memento of the original from October 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 22, 2013
- ↑ A cosmopolitan Europe - or nothing at all Die Zeit, July 1, 2011, accessed on October 22, 2013
