Beyond the memory: the era of witnessing – analyzing processes of knowledge production and memorialization of the Holocaust through the concepts of translocal assemblage and witness creation
Date
2016-05-09
Authors
Gerber, Myriam Bettina
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Abstract
This paper considers the symbiotic relationship between iconic visual representations of the Holocaust – specifically film and Holocaust sites – and processes of Holocaust memorialization. In conjunction, specific sites and objects related to the Holocaust have become icons. I suggest that specific Holocaust sites as well as Holocaust films can be perceived as elements of one and/or multiple translocal assemblage/s. My focus in this analysis is on the role of knowledge production and witness creation in Holocaust memorialization. It is not my intention to diminish the role of Holocaust memorialization; rather, I seek to look beyond representational aspects, and consider the processual relationships involved in the commemoration of the Holocaust in institutions, such as memorial sites and museums, as well as through elements of popular culture, such as films. Furthermore, I analyze the tangible and intangible layers of memories and meaning present in Holocaust films and sites through the lens of palimpsests. These conceptual frameworks allow me to consider how visual representations of the Holocaust, such as film, and site inform each other? How are specific representations of Holocaust sites and objects shaping and informing the commemoration of the Holocaust in the 21st century?
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Keywords
Holocaust memory, Holocaust sites, Holocaust film, Holocaust commemoration, Holocaust victims, Translocal assemblage, Palimpsests, Cremation, Ashes, Memorials, Poland, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Plaszow, Shoah, Schindler's List, Sonderaktion 1005, Sonderkommando, Knowledge production, Witness creation