Literature as a Medium of Memory: the Holocaust in Contemporary Literature
Abstract
of the 20th Century. This symptomatic delay is also to be observed in German literature: in the nineties several novels and autobiographies appear, which tie the Holocaust, each in a specific way, to the Germans’ cultural memory. The article exemplifies different forms of literary memory of the Holocaust with Martin Walser’s A Gushing Fountain, Uwe Timm’s In My Brother’s Shaddow, W.G. Sebald’s Austerlitz and Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader. These works range between autobiographies and novels; a common aspect in all of them is the attempt to address the Holocaust, without smoothening the horrors that are associated with this event. The literature turns out to be a medium of memory, which also reflects the process of memory in a critic way.
Downloads
Article download
Crossmark
License
In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Revista de Filología Alemana is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.
