Storyboards of remembrance: Representations of the past in visitors’ photography at Auschwitz

Visitors to the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial site predominantly use photography as a mnemonic practice, with images serving as 'storyboards' that encapsulate historical understanding and emotional narratives. The study identifies six dominant photographic genres through which visitors negotiate their experiences within an ethical and social framework, highlighting the role of visual perception in regulating sensual impressions during visits. A strong emotional impulse, particularly the feeling of the sublime, is evident in amateur photography, supporting moral ideas such as freedom or justice when confronting the past. The research employs participant-oriented methods to empirically discuss historical imagination's significance in linking the past with the present.

Hilmar, T. (2016). Storyboards of remembrance: Representations of the past in visitors’ photography at Auschwitz. Memory Studies, 9(4), 455–470. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750698015605572