My Shadow in Dachau - Poems by Victims and Survivors of the Concentration Camp

Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-1-57113-907-8
Verlag: Camden House

Buch, Englisch, 314 Seiten, Format (B × H): 165 mm x 233 mm, Gewicht: 608 g

Reihe: Studies in German literature, linguistics, and culture

The concentration camp at Dachau was the first established by the Nazis, opened shortly after Hitler came to power in 1933. It first held political prisoners, but later also forced laborers, Soviet POWs, Jews, and other "undesirables." More than 30,000 deaths were documented there, with many more unrecorded. In the midst of the horror, some inmates turned to poetry to provide comfort, to preserve their sense of humanity, or to document their experiences. Some were or would later become established poets; others were prominent politicians or theologians; still others were ordinary men and women.
This anthology contains 68 poems by 32 inmates of Dachau, in 10 different original languages and facing-page English translation, along with short biographies. A foreword by Walter Jens and an introduction by Dorothea Heiser from the original German edition are joined here by a foreword by Stuart Taberner of the University of Leeds. All the poems, having arisen in the experience or memory of extreme human suffering, are testimonies to the persistence of the humanity and creativity of the individual. They are also a warning not to forget the darkest chapter of history and a challenge to the future not to allow it to be repeated.

Dorothea Heiser holds an MA from the University of Freiburg. Stuart Taberner is Professor of Contemporary German Literature, Culture, and Society at the University of Leeds.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Heiser, Dorothea

Taberner, Stuart

Jens, Walter

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Geschichte des Judentums Antisemitismus, Pogrome, Shoah
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Deutsche Geschichte Deutsche Geschichte: Holocaust
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Gattungen
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein Geschichtspolitik, Erinnerungskultur
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literatur: Editionen, Kritische Editionen
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literatur: Sammlungen, Anthologien

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword to the English-Language Edition by Stuart Taberner
Foreword by Walter Jens
Introduction by Dorothea Heiser
Camp Life: The Reality 1933-1945
Searching for the Purpose of Suffering: Despair - Accusation - Hope
Liberation: Dachau, April 29, 1945
The Years after 1945
Biographies of Other Inmates at Dachau Mentioned in the Anthology
Glossary
Arrivals and Deaths in the Camp at Dachau
Dachau and Its External Camps
Sources and References for the Poems
Works Cited and Literature about Dachau
Recommended Further Reading in English
Notes on the Translators
Index of Authors, Their Biographies, and the Poems

Über Autor(innen)

Taberner, Stuart
University of Leeds

Dorothea Heiser holds an MA from the University of Freiburg. Stuart Taberner is Professor of Contemporary German Literature, Culture, and Society at the University of Leeds.