The Modern Lives of a Medieval Saint: The Cult of St. Hedwig in Twentieth-Century Germany

This article explores evolving interpretations of the life of St. Hedwig of Andechs in the German-speaking world over the past century. In the early twentieth century, she became linked with the nationalist myth of Germany’s Kulturmission to Eastern Europe. After the expulsion of millions of ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe, the expellee community recognized in Hedwig a woman who had endured similar forms of suffering. In the mid-1960s, as the dominant thrust of West German foreign policy gravitated toward détente, she emerged as a saint dedicated to the reconciliation of peoples, a theme that continues to resonate today.