Beyond reading. On materiality of things written in extreme circumstances

Abstract

The author of the article points out that records made during the war and the Shoah – in extreme situations, such as concentration camps, death camps, gulags, ghettos, bunkers, or trenches – are characterized by a specific materiality that should be taken into account. These records (e.g., diaries or letters) should not be analyzed and interpreted merely through the process of reading, and their materiality should not be “read” like a text. The author highlights the importance of elements of the materiality of the records, such as the medium, writing tool, visual appearance of the writing, destruction, and material structure. The article also emphasizes the material and performative aspects of the different kinds of activities related to the way written things exist in extreme situations, forming a dynamic network of practices. These practices include writing, hiding, transcribing, transmitting, searching and finding, preserving, archiving, and, finally, publishing and presenting written things in exhibitions. Exhibitions, along with book publications and archival material, constitute the stock of examples used in the article.