Remembering and Imagining the Holocaust: The Chain of Memory (Cambridge Studies in Modern Theatre)

This is a meditation on memory and on the ways in which memory has operated in the work of writers for whom the Holocaust was a defining event. It is also an exploration of the ways in which fiction and drama have attempted to approach a subject so resistant to the imagination. Beginning with W. G. Sebald, for whom memory and the Holocaust were the roots of a special fascination, Bigsby moves on to consider those writers Sebald himself valued, including Arthur Miller, Anne Frank, Primo Levi and Peter Weiss, and those whose lives crossed in the bleak world of the camps, in fact or fiction. The book offers a chain of memories. It sets witness against fiction, truth against wilful deceit. It asks the question who owns the Holocaust - those who died, those who survived to bear witness, those who appropriated its victims to shape their own necessities. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 9 I The past remembered......Page 11 2 W. G. Sebald: an act of restitution......Page 35 3 Rolf Hochhuth: breaking the silence......Page 125 4 Peter Weiss: the investigation......Page 159 5 Arthur Miller: the rememberer......Page 186 6 Anne Frank: everybody's heroine......Page 229 7 Jean Améry: home and language......Page 268 8 Primo Levi: from the darkness to the light......Page 295 9 Elie Wiesel: to forget is to deny......Page 328 10 Tadeusz Borowski: the world of stone......Page 351 11 Memory theft......Page 367 Coda......Page 387 1. The past remembered......Page 394 2. W. G. Sebald: an act of restitution......Page 395 3. Rolf Hochhuth: breaking the silence......Page 397 4. Peter Weiss: the investigation......Page 398 6 Anne Frank: everybody's heroine......Page 399 7 Jean Améry: home and language......Page 400 8 Primo Levi: from the darkness to the light......Page 401 10 Tadeusz Borowski: the world of stone......Page 402 Coda......Page 403 Index......Page 405 An Exploration Of The Work Of Dramatists And Writers Connected By The Idea Of Memory And Its Relationship To The Holocaust, This Work Begins With A Discussion Of W.g. Sebald And His Examinations Of The Holocaust And Its Interpretation In Diaries, Memoirs, Drama And Literature. The Past Remembered -- W.g. Sebald: An Act Of Restitution -- Rolf Hochhuth: Breaking The Silence -- Peter Weiss: The Investigation -- Arthur Miller: The Rememberer -- Anne Frank: Everybody's Heroine -- Jean Améry: Home And Language -- Primo Levi: From The Darkness To The Light -- Elie Wiesel: To Forget Is To Deny -- Tadeusz Borowski: The World Of Stone -- Memory Theft -- Coda. Christopher Bigsby. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 384-393) And Index. This is a meditation on memory and on the ways in which memory has operated in the work of writers for whom the Holocaust was a defining event. Writers discussed include W. G. Sebald, Primo Levi, Anne Frank, Arthur Miller, Peter Weiss and Rolf Hochhuth. A study of how the Holocaust has been remembered and interpreted in theatre and fiction