Knittel, Susanne. “Lethal Trajectories: Perpetrators from Grafeneck to the Risiera”

This chapter focuses particularly on two sites of Holocaust memory and the exhibitions that exist at these sites: the memorial at the former Nazi euthanasia killing center Grafeneck in Germany and the Risiera di San Sabba memorial in Trieste, Italy. Knittel focuses on the role and representation of perpetrators at these sites, drawing broader conclusions about collective memory and memory politics in each case. She surveys the development of historiographical scholarship and public discourse regarding perpetrators in the two countries since 1945. Closely analyzing the documentary exhibitions at each site (focusing on images, text, context, placement etc.) Knittel shows how the representation of perpetrators at sites of memory illustrates more general attitudes about guilt, responsibility, collaboration, and culpability that prevail in public/official memory discourse. Furthermore, she explores the advantages and pitfalls of teaching about perpetrators at sites of memory.

Knittel, S. “Lethal Trajectories: Perpetrators from Grafeneck to the Risiera” in: The Historical Uncanny: Disability, Ethnicity, and the Politics of Holocaust Memory. New York: Fordham University Press, 2014.