Williams, D orcid.org/0000-0002-7387-8928 (2019) Figuring the Grey Zone: The Auschwitz Sonderkommando in Contemporary Culture. Holocaust Studies, 25 (1-2). pp. 141-157. ISSN 1750-4902
Abstract
This essay reads the ways in which the Auschwitz Sonderkommando
figure in the film The Grey Zone (2001) and the comic book Magneto: Testament (2009). The almost archetypally traumatic experiences of the Sonderkommando have made them a difficult subject for many media. But in forms and genres which place great emphasis on character and plot it has actually made them a way to figure some of the key difficulties of trauma. This essay shows how the generic conventions of gangster films and superhero origin stories allow The Grey Zone and Magneto to address both the moral questions of the Sonderkommando’s position and the ways in which they are able to bear witness.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018, Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Holocaust Studies. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Sonderkommando; Grey Zone; Magneto; genre; witnessing; violence; trauma |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > Fine Art, History of Art & Cultural Studies (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 13 Jun 2018 14:45 |
Last Modified: | 12 Dec 2019 01:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/17504902.2018.1472880 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:131959 |