Wie sich Narrative in Familien der Täter durchbrechen lassen

Die Arbeit an sich selbst
Warum es für einen echten Dialog zwischen den Nachkommen von Tätern und Opfern notwendig ist, dass die Täternachfahren zuvor mit Tabus der eigenen Familiengeschichte aufräumen, beschreibt die Publizistin Alexandra Senfft. Ihr Großvater Hanns Ludin war
als »Gesandter des Dritten Reichs in der Slowakei» für die Deportation der slowakischen Juden mit verantwortlich.
Mitteilungen des Dokumentationszentrums Oberer Kuhberg Ulm e. V. – KZ-Gedenkstätte, Heft 65 / November 2016
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«Living with the Dead: Sharing the Truth and the Pain of the Past»

in: Clio’s Psyche: Understanding the “Why” of Culture, Current Events, History, and Society
Special Issue on Psychology and the Holocaust: Part II
Meeting Report, Volume 21, Number 2, New York, September 2014, Pages 210 ff
excerpt:
Tomi, my grandfather is dead, but you are alive,” I say. Tomi agrees with a sense of relief as we hold on to each other, somewhat lost and yet not alone. We still have a long way to go in order to come to terms with a past that is haunting most of us up to this day. Sharing this experience with Tomi was the right thing to do. My daughter and the film team were with us and wrapped us in cotton wool, supporting us in our shared sorrow. We weren’t alone at all. Dan Bar-On once said to me “Alexandra, you might lose some of your family over working through the past, but you will find others to fill their place.” “It couldn’t be truer,” I think gratefully, as Tomi and I leave the cemetery arm in arm, nestled by a cocoon. In the face of the rising populist, right-winged develop-ments in Europe, I wonder though if all our efforts are too late.»
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The Transmission of a Troubled Past: Between the Personal and Professional

Introduction to an event at the University College of London, May 2014:
«The Transmission of a Troubled Past: Between the Personal and Professional –
Alexandra Senfft, author: In conversation with Stephanie Bird, UCL»
by Dr. Julia Wagner, University College of London, Germany
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Silence is Such Sorrow – Schweigen tut weh

Despite the fact that Germans, both academically and politically, have taken great strides towards exposing the crimes committed during the National Socialist period, silence still continues to rule with respect to the biographical handling of the past. Not only within the context of families, but also in society more generally, the perpetrators are always »others«.
JMB Journal 6 »Generationen«, July 2012
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Schweigen tut weh – Silence is Such Sorrow

Seiten 10/11 und 62ff.

Soviel auch immer Deutsche über die Zeit des Nationalsozialismus akademisch und politisch aufgedeckt haben, so sehr herrscht bei der biografischen Bearbeitung weiterhin Schweigen. Die Täter sind deshalb nicht nur im familiären, sondern auch im gesellschaftlichen Kontext immer die anderen.

Despite the fact that Germans, both academically and politically, have taken great strides towards exposing the crimes committed during the National Socialist period, silence still continues to rule with respect to the biographical handling of the past. Not only within the context of families, but also in society more generally, the perpetrators are always »others«.
Das JMB Journal 6 »Generationen«, Juli 2012
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The Photographer Judah Passow – An Eye for the Tragedy of the Conflict

Judah Passow
Foto: Frank Dabba Smith

The photographer Judah Passow, four times awarded with the World Press Award, abhors religious fervour and works towards social tolerance. Alexandra Senfft met with Passow in London and offers us a portrait of the man.
Qantara, 08.04.2010
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