University of Cincinnati

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date: August 6th, 2007 I, __________________Julia K. Baker,__________ _____ hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: Doctorate of Philosophy in: German Studies It is entitled: The Return of the Child Exile: Re-enactment of Childhood Trauma in Jewish Life-Writing and Documentary Film This work and its defense approved by: Chair: Dr. Katharina Gerstenberger Dr. Sara Friedrichsmeyer Dr. Todd Herzog The Return of the Child Exile: Re-enactment of Childhood Trauma in Jewish Life-Writing and Documentary Film A Dissertation submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of DOCTORATE OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D.) In the Department of German Studies Of the College of Arts and Sciences 2007 by Julia K. Baker M.A., Bowling Green State University, 2000 M.A., Karl Franzens University, Graz, Austria, 1998 Committee Chair: Katharina Gerstenberger ABSTRACT “The Return of the Child Exile: Re-enactment of Childhood Trauma in Jewish Life- Writing and Documentary Film” is a study of the literary responses of writers who were Jewish children in hiding and exile during World War II and of documentary films on the topic of refugee children and children in exile. The goal of this dissertation is to investigate the relationships between trauma, memory, fantasy and narrative in a close reading/viewing of different forms of Jewish life-writing and documentary film by means of a scientifically informed approach to childhood trauma. Chapter 1 discusses the reception of Binjamin Wilkomirski’s Fragments (1994), which was hailed as a paradigmatic traumatic narrative written by a child survivor before it was discovered to be a fictional text based on the author’s invented Jewish life-story. In this chapter, I also review established adaptations of trauma in literature, as introduced most prominently into the humanities by Shoshana Felman, Dori Laub and Cathy Caruth, and subsequently propose a more clinicial view of trauma informed by childhood trauma research and cognitive psychology. My methodological approach thus links recent scholarship on Holocaust literature with contemporary trauma theory. Subsequently, Fragments serves as a point of departure to discuss the links between traumatic memory, fantasy and narrative in Georges-Arthur Goldschmidt’s pseudo- autobiographical texts Der Spiegeltag, Ein Garten in Deutschland, Die Absonderung, Der iii unterbrochene Wald, and Die Aussetzung, as well as his autobiography Über die Flüsse (Chapter 2), Stefanie Zweig’s two autobiographical novels Nirgendwo in Afrika and Irgendwo in Deutschland (Chapter 3), and Lore Segal’s memoir turned novel Other People’s Houses (Chapter 4). Following Lenore Terr’s and other childhood trauma specialists’ insights, I locate the four most common characteristics found in traumatized children in Goldschmidt’s, Zweig’s and Segal’s texts. These characteristics are: strongly visualized or otherwise repeatedly perceived memories, repetitive behaviors, trauma-specific fears, and changed attitudes about people, aspects of life, and the future. Finally, in chapter 5, I show how childhood trauma and child exiles have been depicted in documentary films such as Into the Arms of Strangers (2000), My Knees Were Jumping (1995), and Vielleicht habe ich Glück gehabt (2003). Key words: Life-Writing, Childhood Trauma, Jewish Children in Exile, Refugee Children, Holocaust Literature, Binjamin Wilkomirski, Georges-Arthur Goldschmidt, Stefanie Zweig, Lore Segal, Documentary Film iv v To my father Peter and my grandmother Marianne vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Compiling an (incomplete) list of people to whom I am grateful makes me wonder why I ever felt lonely during the past three years. In retrospect, dissertation writing is a rather social process. I am grateful for the guidance and support of a number of teachers and colleagues for their questions and suggestions regarding the development of my project. My “Doktormutter” Katharina Gerstenberger is the best advisor one could wish for. Her expertise, responsiveness, thoughtful critique, humor and honesty also make her a great role model for the future. Sara Friedrichsmeyer and Todd Herzog have encouraged and supported me from start to finish. For inspiring my work in many ways, I would like to thank Dervila Cook, Christina Guenther, Marianne Hirsch, Geoffrey Howes, Käthe Kratz, Erin McGlothlin, Leo Spitzer, Lenore C. Terr, Racelle Weiman, and Liliane Weissberg. Thank you to Alfred Gottschalk, Trudy Rauh, Harold Kasimow, and Henry Blumenstein for sharing their childhood stories. Individuals, whose friendship also supported this work and influenced my state of mind while completing it, include my fellow graduate students at the University of Cincinnati, particularly Laura Traser-Vas. My friend Jeff Hannigan deserves to be mentioned for being the only person who, apart from my dissertation committee, has repeatedly reminded me that he wants to read the whole thing when it is finished. I am grateful to many Austrian, Australian, and German friends for keeping in touch over the years and for believing in me. A special thank you to Barbara Simons for sending large boxes of tea from Wales and Scotland. My dear friend Jan Caporale deserves special recognition for her spontaneity, her laughter, and her expertise in toddler entertainment. I am indebted to Emmanuel Wilson, Jay Sinnard, and Ferenc Traser for their help with the technical aspects of putting together the final version of this project. For considering my dissertation worthy of financial support, I thank the University of Cincinnati, the Department of German Studies, the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center and the Taft Memorial Fund, and the Max Kade Foundation. My mother Lili and my sister Luci are two remarkable women who live too far away from me. vii I could not have completed this dissertation without the love, support and patience of my husband Ron, and without being distracted by my beautiful sons Leopold and Clemens. Finally, I am touched by the lives of my Papi Peter and my grandmother Marianne, to whom I have dedicated this work. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................III ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................ VII TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 1: WILKOMIRSKI AND BEYOND: THE “TRAUMATIZATION” OF HOLOCAUST LITERATURE AND JEWISH LIFE-WRITING............................... 3 1.1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 3 1.2 JEWISH CHILDHOOD AND CHILD SURVIVORS OF THE HOLOCAUST: HIDDEN CHILDREN AND CHILDREN IN EXILE ........................................................................... 35 1.3 CHILDHOOD TRAUMA RESEARCH ......................................................................... 45 1.4 TRACING THE INTERPLAY OF TRAUMA, MEMORY AND FANTASY: REMEMBERING AND NARRATING CHILDHOOD TRAUMA...................................................................... 55 CHAPTER 2: “ALLES ERZÄHLEN UND DOCH NICHTS VERRATEN?”: CHILDHOOD TRAUMA IN GEORGES-ARTHUR GOLDSCHMIDT’S FICTIONAL, PSEUDO-AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL AND AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL LIFE-WRITING ............................................................................................................. 61 2.1 GEORGES-ARTHUR GOLDSCHMIDT’S CHILDHOOD TRAUMAS ............................. 61 2.2 GEORGES-ARTHUR GOLDSCHMIDT AS FRENCH/GERMAN AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR ................................................................................................................ 63 2.3 FROM FICTION TO PSEUDO-AUTOBIOGRAPHY TO AUTOBIOGRAPHY: REMEMBERING AND NARRATING CHILDHOOD TRAUMA IN GEORGES-ARTHUR GOLDSCHMIDT’S LIFE- WRITING................................................................................ 73 2.3.1 Der Spiegeltag: Literary Influences............................................................... 82 2.3.2 Ein Garten in Deutschland: Early Traumatization in Germany .................. 90 2.3.3 Der unterbrochene Wald: The Holocaust and Survivor Guilt...................... 97 2.3.4 Die Absonderung: The Body and (Sado-)Masochistic Fantasies ............... 101 2.3.5 Die Aussetzung: Dissolved Body and Liberation......................................... 105 2.3.6 Über die Flüsse : Defictionalization and Judgment of Parents.................. 109 CHAPTER 3: “KOMISCH, DAß WIR ALLE WAS ANDERES MEINEN, WENN WIR ZU HAUSE SAGEN.”: ‘VICARIOUS CHILDHOOD TRAUMA’ AND THE JEWISH ‘FAMILY ROMANCE’ IN STEFANIE ZWEIG’S AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVELS NIRGENDWO IN AFRIKA AND IRGENDWO IN DEUTSCHLAND .................................................................................................... 120 3.1 STEFANIE ZWEIG’S VICARIOUS CHILDHOOD TRAUMA ...................................... 120 3.2 LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND RELATIONSHIPS: REGINA’S SEARCH FOR A SPACE IN THE JEWISH “FAMILY ROMANCE” ............................................................................ 126 3.3 REMEMBERING AND NARRATING CHILDHOOD TRAUMA IN NIRGENDWO IN AFRIKA ....................................................................................................................... 131 3.4 REMEMBERING AND NARRATING CHILDHOOD TRAUMA IN IRGENDWO IN DEUTSCHLAND...........................................................................................................

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