Das schwierige Erbe und die Erinnerungspflicht in "Topografie der Erinnerung" von Martin Pollack

Abstract

The article analyses essays collected in the volume "Topography of Remembrance" (2016) dealing with the memories of Martin Pollack about his Nazi ancestors, especially about his father who was an SS-man. The author of this article asks the following questions: What does it mean for Pollack to be the son of a Nazi criminal? Why and from what perspective is he writing? Who is he writing for? How does he relate to his father’s image? The answers to these questions are based on theoretical discourses on family memory. The thesis of the article is that Pollack does not distance himself from his father in his texts and does not write objectively but remains subjective in his narrative. He is concerned by the fact that he is a direct descendant of the National Socialists and he wonders what that might mean for his own identity.

Keywords

• Martin Pollack
• Nazi ancestors
• family memory