ul. Mikołaja Kopernika 26, Kraków
Poland
Małgorzata Golik
Konteksty Kultury, Volume 16 Issue 1, 2019, pp. 52-72
https://doi.org/10.4467/23531991KK.19.004.10659This paper concerns the literary output of third-generation Polish Jews, especially the compositions of Piotr Paziński, who is the most recognized member of this generation. An analysis of the literary achievement of this author brings to light the features characteristic for the entire group and elucidates the way its representatives perceive the Holocaust and the history of Jews in Poland. Most space in third-generation works is taken up by the writers’ struggle with memory, as authors attempt to grasp and safeguard the memories of a world which gradually slips into obscurity, and to revive a bygone reality. Nevertheless, they approach this challenge diff erently than the generation of their parents, which was touched by family trauma, or the very survivors themselves.
Małgorzata Golik
Konteksty Kultury, Volume 13, Issue 2, 2016, pp. 158-175
https://doi.org/10.4467/23531991KK.16.010.5475The article discusses a key issue in the writings of Imre Kertész (1929–2016), that is, contemplation on the effects of the concentration-camp trauma on the further life of survivors. In his books, the author touches upon problems faced by former inmates of concentration camps, often drawing on his own experience. The Nobel Prize winner reflects upon the former prisoners’ personalities, their problems in building relationships and their image of love and family distorted by war experiences. He also stresses the fact that many of them, unable to adapt to normal life, decided to commit suicide, while his escape from the trauma was just his writing.