RESHAPING COLLECTIVE MEMORIES: TRAUMA AND GUILT IN THE FILMIC ADAPTATION OF «GEBÜRTIG»

Abstract

The present essay aims at discussing the topic of post-memory of World War II by individuals who formed their identity after the end of this historical landmark. Bearing this objective in mind, a reflection upon the influence of the different types of memory in the process of identity formation shall be proposed and it will be contended that both memories formed upon the subject’s experiences as well as second-hand, intermediated, inherited memories from the past –memories transmitted either symbolically or by elder members of the group –, deeply influence the elaboration of a subject’s identitary map. This theoretical framework will be subsequently illustrated with examples taken from the cinematographic adaptation of Gebürtig, a novel written by the Jewish Austrian author Robert Schindel.