The role of his life! A ghost, somewhere between dream and waking. A corpse, frozen into speechlessness. The trial against John Demjanjuk exhibits for the world to see what has been daily routine in most German families since the end of World War II: silence. (more…)
This photograph of John (Iwan) Demjanjuk being wheeled into a German courtroom in Munich reminds me of my grandfather shortly before he died: an old man, ill and barely conscious; an old Nazi who lived a full life, had children, grandchildren, a nice house in the suburbs; a perpetrator who saw himself as victim; a typical “Mitläufer” who for fear of his and his family’s life joined the NSDAP, avoided resistance, hung a photograph of Hitler in his living room, and somehow forgot to take it down when the Nazis no longer officially ruled Germany — that’s how I remember my grandfather. (more…)
Charges have been dropped against German artist Ottmar Hörl accused of displaying Nazi symbols in public. Authorities were not amused by his installation of an array of silver and golden garden gnomes, their right arms raised in Hitler salute. (more…)
Many things are verboten in Germany. For example, publicly displaying symbols of Nazi organizations. The latest case of violation of this law has been reported from Nuremberg where a golden garden gnome performing the Heil Hitler salute was exhibited in the window of an art gallery. The gnome was created by German artist Ottmar Hörl who is now under investigation from the office of the public prosecutor. It’s art, Hörl defends himself. It’s verboten, the representatives of the law insist. (more…)
In an unusually biased article in yesterday’s New York Times Michael Kimmelman praises Countess Elisabeth (Tisa) von der Schulenburg, sister of Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg who was a member of the fervently nationalistic and anti-Semitic military conspiracy group which tried to assassinate Hitler on July 20, 1944, as a model for German families’ efforts of ‘coming to terms’ with the Nazi past as well as “a cautionary tale about judging history or a people, any people, in black and white.” Kimmelman clearly prefers white, leaving out black and brown entirely. (more…)
Nazis of all ages and nationalities love the Autobahn. Does that mean Jews must love it too? (more…)
Memory is performative. To remember is to repeat.
Not every memory gets performed and repeated. Some memories are so horrific that we censor their re-presentation. Perpetrator memories of the Holocaust as sexual extravaganza belong to this category.
Liliana Cavani’s controversial 1974 movie The Night Porter has been labeled “Nazi chic” (Roger Ebert). For some critics the film is a shamelessly pornographic fantasy of the Holocaust, a “sentimental idyll … exalting romantic love between victim and victimizer, against the brute reality of Nazi violence,” (Marga Cottino-Jones) using the Holocaust as a mere “backdrop to the erotic/sadomasochistic misadventures of Max and Lucia, Nazi and victim” (Rebecca Scherr); a “despicable attempt to titillate [the viewer] by exploiting memories of persecution and suffering.” (Ebert)
I’m not convinced.
Memory is performative. To remember is to repeat.
Not every memory gets performed and repeated. Some memories are so horrific that we censor their re-presentation. Perpetrator memories of the Holocaust as sexual extravaganza belong to this category.
Liliana Cavani’s controversial 1974 movie The Night Porter has been labeled “Nazi chic” (Roger Ebert). For some critics the film [...]
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