Language:
English
Year of publication:
1999
Titel der Quelle:
History and Memory; Studies in Representation of the Past
Angaben zur Quelle:
11,2 (1999) 37-61
Keywords:
Bacall-Zwirn, Alina,
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Personal narratives
;
Holocaust survivors Interviews
;
Audio-visual aids
Abstract:
Reflections of a former worker at Yale University's Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies who, in 1993-97, worked with Holocaust survivor Alina Bacall-Zwirn and her family on her memoirs, published in 1999. Stark decided to base the book on verbatim transcripts of Bacall-Zwirn's testimony, to avoid the distorting mediation of any less neutral mode of recording her tale. Reflects on the relation between the survivor's traumatic past and the attempt to retell the story. A gap between memory and narration remains even in a taped account, and Stark's experience with Bacall-Zwirn shows how the witness tries to overcome this gap. Illustrates this with an excerpt from Bacall-Zwirn's text, relating her escape from a transport train on its way to Treblinka; her text is juxtaposed with an excerpt on the same episode taken from Lawrence Murphy's "One Small Candle", based on Bacall-Zwirn's life story. Concludes that, with all its shortcomings, oral testimony surpasses all other ways of preserving and commemorating the personal Holocaust experience.
Note:
Appeared in German as "Die Aufgabe der Zeugenschaft; das Holocaust-Zeugnis der Alina Bacall-Zwirn" in "Niemand zeugt für den Zeugen" (2000) 133-155.
URL:
Click here for fulltext (may be restricted to subscribers)
URL:
Locate this publication in Israeli libraries
Permalink