Mr Dave wrote:
It's interesting to note the differences between Germanys treatment of their old flag to that of the confederate states (and similar non-flag postwar issues), and the consequent effects this has seemed to have.
Aye. How the war is remembered, and how American and, especially, Southern identity is shaped by it, can be just as fascinating as the events themselves.
Germany is a good comparator, because after the war, (especially in the former West Germany - the GDR considered itself born without sin) a lot of effort and pressure was put to admit the crimes of the past.
In the former south, after the Reconstruction period ended in the 1870s, the old order more or less reasserted itself and remained in control until the civil rights movement.
If you are interested in such things, the
CW Memory blog often has interesting posts on this topic. I really recommend the Horowitz book ('Confederates in the attic') that got me into this period too.