Prisoners of War: A German-Canadian Post-war Memory Project by Elizabeth Schulze B.F.A., Simon Fraser University, 2003 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the School of Communication Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology Elizabeth Schulze 2012 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2012 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for “Fair Dealing.” Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. Approval Name: Elizabeth Schulze Degree: Master of Arts (Communication) Title of Thesis: Prisoners of War: A German-Canadian Post-war Memory Project Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Alison Beale, Director, School of Communication Dr. Zoë Druick Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Dr. Kirsten Emiko McAllister Supervisor Associate Professor Dr. Ashok Mathur External Examiner Canada Research Chair in Cultural and Artistic Inquiry Thompson Rivers University Date Defended/Approved: June 22, 2012 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii Ethics Statement The author, whose name appears on the title page of this work, has obtained, for the research described in this work, either: a. human research ethics approval from the Simon Fraser University Office of Research Ethics, or b. advance approval of the animal care protocol from the University Animal Care Committee of Simon Fraser University; or has conducted the research c. as a co-investigator, collaborator or research assistant in a research project approved in advance, or d. as a member of a course approved in advance for minimal risk human research, by the Office of Research Ethics. A copy of the approval letter has been filed at the Theses Office of the University Library at the time of submission of this thesis or project. The original application for approval and letter of approval are filed with the relevant offices. Inquiries may be directed to those authorities. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada update Spring 2010 Abstract This thesis investigates the transformation of German-Canadian WWII family legacies as they are passed down through generations and between cultures. From a memory studies perspective, I examine my family’s archive of stories and artefacts as a case study, creating a memory project that interprets both autobiographical and co-produced texts created by my grandfather and I that describe his captivity in the American prisoner of war camp at Bad Kreuznach, Germany. In recounting these experiences, my grandfather’s texts construct and connect to post-war German discourses of guilt, victimization, and survivorship for his Canadian grandchildren. However, my involvement in mediating and representing his camp experiences reframes his stories to incorporate my third-generation German-Canadian perspective. Examining these texts, their creation, and our various identity positions within that process, I employ the concepts of intersubjective performance (Abrams, 2010) and traumatic representation (Caruth, 1996) in the analysis of my process of postmemory creation (Hirsch, 2008). It is my contention that this process can serve a therapeutic purpose, helping families comes to terms with traumatic legacies and difficult knowledge. Keywords: German-Canadian; Rheinwiesenlager; prisoner of war; postmemory; Enkelliteratur; memory studies iv Dedication To my grandfather, Bernhard Schulze, for diving into the unknown with me. v Acknowledgements I am sincerely grateful to my thesis supervisors, Associate Professors Zoë Druick and Kirsten McAllister, whose patient encouragement and guidance during my studies enabled me to work through ideas both personal and challenging during my return to academia. Thanks also go out to Professors Colin Browne and Rob Groeneboer, who supported me with honesty and generosity in my ongoing exploration of these topics over the past decade. In addition, I would especially like to acknowledge the Government of Canada, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council and Simon Fraser University, whose scholarships and fellowships allowed me to continue my studies with financial support. There are also a number of people whose time, support and feedback helped to structure my writing and my presentation of this work: Ryan Severin, Itrath Syed and Wendy Chen. Their comments were immensely helpful, and I am very thankful for their contributions. My greatest thanks, of course, go to my family. Their endless patience during my near- complete absence over the past three years has been immensely appreciated. I want to thank my partner Rick for his shared passion for this topic, and for the extended efforts he put into supporting me and digitizing my family’s archive. I would also like to acknowledge my mother, Debra, my father, Fritz, my aunt Donna and my uncle Don for their unwavering belief in me; my aunt Barb and uncle Steve for always bringing me back to the big picture; my grandma Anne for her time, energy, and support; my sister Barb and her family for their love and understanding; and my cousin Christine for sharing in my quest to understand our haunted family history. My grandfather, of course, receives the most special of acknowledgments. He is the source of all that relates to this project, and to him I am ever grateful. vi Table of Contents Approval .......................................................................................................................... ii Partial Copyright Licence ............................................................................................... iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iv Dedication ....................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... vii List of Illustrations ......................................................................................................... viii Glossary ......................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1. Unravelling Wartime (Post)memories ................................................... 1 “Never be ashamed because you’re German.” ................................................................ 1 Traces and Processes of Memory ................................................................................. 17 (Post)memory Texts ...................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 2. Post-war German Guilt: At Home and Abroad ................................... 32 German Guilt, Victimhood and the “Survivor” Narrative ................................................. 32 German-Canadian Post-War Family Legacies............................................................... 42 Chapter 3. A Family History in Context ................................................................. 49 Speaking and Representing Traumatic Memory ............................................................ 49 Oral Historiography: The Products and Processes of History-Making ............................ 59 Autoethnographic Writing .............................................................................................. 71 Chapter 4. Prisoners of War: A Post-war Memory Project .................................. 79 Summers by the Water .................................................................................................. 79 Performances of History ................................................................................................ 84 The Kid in the Photograph ............................................................................................. 88 Play Time ...................................................................................................................... 97 Intersubjectivity, Suffering and “Camp life” .................................................................. 102 Traumatic Absences.................................................................................................... 105 Memories of Guilt, Victimization and Survival .............................................................. 112 Chapter 5. Concluding Reflections ..................................................................... 126 References ............................................................................................................. 131 Appendices ............................................................................................................. 142 Appendix A. Translated Excerpt from the Diary of Bernhard Schulze (April - June, 1945) ........................................................................................................ 143 Appendix B. Excerpt from the Memoir of Bernhard Schulze (1994, pp. 39-43) ....... 151 Appendix C. DVD: Excerpts from raw footage, filmed during the production of German Lessons (2003) ..................................................................................... 154 vii List of Illustrations