Re-)visualizing the ‘heart of hell’? Representations of the Auschwitz Sonderkommando in the art of David Olère and Son of Saul (László Nemes, 2015)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12904336 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Isabel Wollaston (University of Birmingham, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 131-146 |
| Publication date | 2019-06-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Holocaust Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1750-4902 • E-ISSN: 2048-4887 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17504902.2019.1625119 |
| OpenAlex | W2951333362 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
This paper discusses recurrent debates over whether there are limits in representing the experience of the Sonderkommando in Auschwitz, with particular reference to art by the survivor David Olère and László Nemes’ Saul Fia (Son of Saul). It argues that whilst those Sonderkommando who sought to represent the ‘heart of hell’ were acutely aware of the limits of representation, they remained resolutely committed to communicating that reality; and concludes that whilst Son of Saul cannot, and does not seek to, fully represent the ‘heart of hell,’ it nevertheless offers an important creative and provocative exploration of aspects of that experience
Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Political science · Politics · Psychoanalysis · Representation (politics · Sociology · Law · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Philosophy · Photography and Visual Culture · Psychology · Visual Culture and Art Theory
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |