The history of postwar European culture is undergoing major reconstruction. Not only did the events of 1989 irreversibly alter the face of European politics and society, it has also radically reshuffled the relationship between past and present. The last decade has witnessed an explosion of new scholarship challenging what were once firmly held Cold War orthodoxies. Favorite topics of late include the subterranean force of European nationalisms, the roles of culture and religion as agents of Cold War complicity or subversion, as well as the lasting significance of the wartime legacy of mass death and destruction long after 1945. What distinguishes this post–Cold War historiography is the way it has placed the question of cultural continuity squarely at the center of discussion. Whereas Cold War scholarship on fascism, World War II, and the Holocaust generally concentrated on their multiple causes, the new trend inclines toward investigating its manifold effects. Of growing interest to many cultural historians these days is the extent to which the legacy of what is significantly called “fascist modernism” – whether it be narrative tropes, visual codes, and/or political mythologies – continued to influence the reorganization of postwar life and culture.