The analysis focuses on one of the most important cultural issues of the year 2014 in Germany，i.e. the centennial of the outbreak of WWI. Therefore，the still existing differences between the cultures of remembrance and those of memory in Germany，France and other European countries have to be revealed and interpreted historically，which inevitably leads to an engagement with nationally-framed traditions of historiographical narration and writing. In the numerous Gesamtdarstellungen （overall presentations） of WWI of recent times in Germany，there is a Perspektivenverschiebung （shift of perspectives） ongoing which means departure from the German-centred narrative and integration of foreign ones，among which the British and the US narratives are the most valued. As an example for such an approach the astonishing success of the book of the year “Die Schlafwandler” （the German translation of “The Sleepwalkers”） of the Cambridge historian Christopher Clark thus became an extraordinary cultural phenomenon. The interpre tation of the so-called “Clark effect” and the related public discussions and academic debates on war responsibility of Germany could be a clue to a deeper understanding of the historical consciousness and-as its construct-the identity of the German people. <<