Microhistories of Memory: Remediating the Holocaust by Bullets in Postwar West Germany

The West German novel, radio play, and television series, Through the Night (Am grünen Strand der Spree, 1955-1960), which depicts the mass shootings of Jews in the occupied Soviet Union during World War II, has been gradually regaining popularity in recent years. Originally circulated in post-war West Germany, the cultural memories of the holocaust embedded within this multi-medium construction present different forms of historical conceptualization. Using numerous archival sources, Microhistories of Memory brings forward three comprehensive case studies on the impact, actors, and materiality of accounts surrounding questions of circulation of cultural memory, audience reception, production, and popularity of Through the Night in its different mediums since its first appearance.

Magdalena Saryusz-Wolska is research fellow at the German Historical Institute Warsaw and associate professor at the University of Lodz. She is co-author of the monograph Bilder der Normalisierung. Gesundheiat, Ernährung und Haushalt in der visuellen Kultur Deutschlands, 1945–1948 (De Gruyter, 2017), among others. Her other publications include contributions to Memory Studies, The Public Historian, and the German Studies Review.

This book is part of the “Worlds of Memory” series by Berghahn Books in collaboration with the Memory Studies Association. For more information, please visit here.