Crematoria, Barracks, Gateway: Survivors' Return Visits to the Memory Landscapes of Auschwitz

Survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau revisit the site not as a uniform memorial landscape but as interconnected micro-sites, engaging with it through a dynamic interplay of memory and materiality that extends beyond symbolic representation. This study reveals how survivors' return visits to crematoria, barracks, and gateways involve a multisensory experience, incorporating physical movement and embodied memory ('muscular consciousness'). The research draws on oral histories, documentary films, and memoirs to challenge the passive view of memorial landscapes, demonstrating instead their active role in shaping survivors' recollections. By analyzing these return visits, the study highlights the complexity of memory work at Auschwitz, where past trauma and present commemorative practices intersect.

Cole. (2013). Crematoria, Barracks, Gateway: Survivors’ Return Visits to the Memory Landscapes of Auschwitz History and Memory, 25(2), 102. https://doi.org/10.2979/histmemo.25.2.102