Literature – Jessen – Science: interest in Holocaust literature is greater than ever – Culture

Jessen (dpa) – According to an expert, the Holocaust is a frequent topic in the literature. “One almost feels that the interest has never been as great as it is today,” said Sacha Fuchert, head of the Office of Holocaust Literature at Giessen University, DPA. “I think this also has something to do with the fact that this is a new generation that often no longer has family members who consciously lived between 1933 and 1945. There is a great interest in knowing what happened at that time.”

The literature on pure eyewitness reports continues to be developed – whether for narratives on the historical topic, treatment of family traumas in the second or third generation or graphic novels. “Texts of contemporary witnesses survive,” Fauchert said. “But to be able to appreciate them properly, they will also need other forms of literary communication in the future, so that one can deal with and understand them.”

Through the Office of Holocaust Literature, Giessen University is the only university in Germany with its own institution that conducts interdisciplinary research on the Holocaust and camp literature. The texts of Holocaust survivors are the focal point of the department, which was founded in 1998 at the Institute for German Studies. Your texts should be saved for future generations and discussed critically in science, schools, and the public. “We also want to find ways and means of how to preserve the memory of the Holocaust through an effective handling of literature even if the generation of modern witnesses no longer exists in the near future,” says the Workplace website.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 220121-99-793362 / 2