3G. Positions of the Third Generation after the Second World War and the Shoah in Contemporary Literature and Arts
Final Report Abstract
The academic network was dedicated to the transdisciplinary analysis and interpretation of literary, visual, film and performance artworks by the third generation (3G) after the Second World War and the Shoah. Grandchildren of former victims, perpetrators and spectators of National Socialism position themselves in their works in a way that is clearly different from previous generations, both in relation to the memory and representation of the Shoah and the World War and to the present: With regard to the past, the work of the third generation is dominated by an awareness of the mediality of memory, which is exhibited self-reflexively, while the work of remembrance is often closely linked to contemporary conflicts and thus related to one's own present. During the network’s four-year funding period, the specifics of the third generation’s literary and artistic acts of remembrance were worked out both with regard to individual paradigmatic works and with regard to their interaction as a discursive formation, i.e. as generation-specific memory work. The results of the six working meetings were published in a thematic issue of the Yearbook for European Jewish Literature Studies (2023) as well as in numerous individual studies. In addition to its academic work, the network was also dedicated to the transfer of knowledge and ideas between academic, literary, journalistic, artistic and curatorial work and, in cooperation with non-university cultural institutions, organised an accompanying programme as well as a final symposium with readings, film screenings and panel discussions.
