TRAUMATIC REALISM This page intentionally left blank TRAUMATIC REALISM The Demands of Holocaust Representation Michael Rothberg M IN ME SO TA University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis London The image that appears on the cover and in the introduction is from The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman. Copyright 1973, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 by Art Spiegelman. Reprinted by permission of Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Chapter 1 is a slightly revised version of "After Adorno: Culture in the Wake of Catastro- phe," an article that appeared in New German Critique 72 (fall 1997): 45-81; reprinted with the permission of New German Critique. Parts of chapters 3 and 4 were originally published in "Between the Extreme and the Everyday: Ruth Kliiger's Traumatic Realism," alb: Auto /Biography Studies 14, no. 2 (fall 1999); reprinted with permission oia/b: Auto I Biography Studies. An earlier version of parts of chapter 5 appeared as "We Were Talking Jewish..." in Contemporary Literature 35, no. 4 (winter 1994): 661-87; copyright 1994, reprinted by permission of the University of Wisconsin Press. Copyright 2000 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290 Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520 http ://www. upress. umn.edu Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rothberg, Michael. Traumatic realism : the demands of Holocaust representation / Michael Rothberg. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-8166-3458-0 (he) - ISBN 0-8166-3459-9 (pb) 1. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) - Historiography. 2. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) - Influence. I. Title. D804.348 .R68 2000 940.53'18'072-dc21 00-008299 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 forYY This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: The Demands of Holocaust Representation 1 Parti MODERNISM "AFTER AUSCHWITZ" 17 1. After Adorno: Culture in the Wake of Catastrophe 25 2. Before Auschwitz: Maurice Blanchot, From Now On 59 Part II REALISM IN "THE CONCENTRATIONARY UNIVERSE" 97 3. "The Barbed Wire of the Postwar World": Ruth Kliiger's Traumatic Realism 107 4. Unbearable Witness: Charlotte Delbo's Traumatic Timescapes 141 Part III POSTMODERNISM, OR "THE YEAR OF THE HOLOCAUST" 179 5. Reading Jewish: Philip Roth, Art Spiegelman, and Holocaust Postmemory 187 6. "Touch an Event to Begin": Americanizing the Holocaust 221 Conclusion. After the "Final Solution": From the "Jewish Question" to Jewish Questioning 265 Notes 275 Bibliography 299 Index 315 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments During the writing of this book I was frequently asked two ques- tions: Why have you chosen to write about the Holocaust? How do you manage to work on such a subject? In some ways, the first question was easier. Once I began to read and think about the Nazi genocide it became difficult for me not to write about it. The events of the Holocaust seemed to challenge much of what my training in literary and cultural studies had led me to take for granted. At the same time, all of the important questions with which I was con- cerned intersected in this one series of events, events to which I, as a Jewish American whose family had come to the United States in the early part of the twentieth century, had little direct connection. Thinking through the Holocaust has made me think differently about literature, history, and theory. But thinking as a literary and cultural theorist has also helped me to think differently about the Nazi genocide. The second question was more difficult, and it was only in writ- ing these acknowledgments that I was able to formulate an answer for myself. I realize now that I was able to dedicate so many years to this project because of the people with whom it has put me in contact. The many communities to which I have belonged — the sense of being part of a larger intellectual and social project — have enabled the solitary work of writing. I am glad to have an op- portunity here to acknowledge my intellectual and personal debts. I owe a great deal to writers and scholars I have never met, and I have tried to mark those debts in the endnotes. More immediately, I have benefited from a number of advisers, colleagues, and friends, without whose support this would certainly be a different work. Nancy K. Miller has accompanied this book from its inception and has followed it through multiple drafts, right to its conclu- sion. I can't quite imagine what it would have been without her. I am grateful for her sharp wit, incisive commentary, and ongoing friendship. There is no better mentor. While at the CUNY Gradu- IX x / Acknowledgments ate Center I was also fortunate to work with Vincent Crapanzano, Gerhard Joseph, and Stuart Liebman, all of whom played impor- tant roles in the early stages of this book. At CUNY I was aided in initial writing and research by the generosity of the "J. & O. Winter" Fund, administered by Professor Randolph Braham and The Rosenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies. In the last four years, I have been lucky to be surrounded by a challenging and generous group of colleagues at the University of Miami. I have been inspired in particular by my friends Anthony Barthelemy, Leslie Bow, Russ Castronovo, David Glimp, Jeffrey Shoulson, and Margie Sokoloff. I am especially grateful to Russ for reading sections of my manuscript and offering much-needed ad- vice and assistance, and to David for a last-minute commentary on the introduction. As chairs of the English department, Zack Bowen and Shari Benstock have made it possible for me to complete this work in timely fashion. I was also fortunate to receive two Max Orovitz Summer Awards and one General Research Award from the University of Miami. Peter Hohendahl and the Institute for German Cultural Studies at Cornell University provided a wel- come temporary home during the completion of this book and an opportunity to try out some of its ideas before a tough but enthusiastic audience. My work on the Holocaust has been very much enriched by my association with the Holocaust Educational Foundation. Without the inspirational commitment of Mr. Zev Weiss I would not have had the chance to take part in the foundation's conferences, semi- nars, and study trips. I would also like to thank Peter Hayes, who ran the Summer Institute on the Holocaust and Jewish Civilization at Northwestern University, and Geoffrey Giles, who led a study trip to central and eastern Europe. On that trip, I was sustained by the companionship of Omer Bartov, Rebecca Boehling, Greg Caplan, David Murphy, and Jeff Peck. At the University of Minnesota Press I was fortunate to connect with my editor, William Murphy. His enthusiasm for this project has meant a great deal to me. Marianne Hirsch provided more than just a reader's report for the press — to receive encouragement and advice from a scholar for whom I have so much respect has been of the utmost importance. James Berger and Kali Tal also provided thoughtful and engaged responses to the manuscript. While I have not always followed their advice, I always appreciated it. Andreas Acknowledgments I xi Huyssen and Anson Rabinbach provided crucial readings of the first chapter, which appeared in an earlier version in New German Critique. I am grateful to the editors of that journal, as well as to the editors of Contemporary Literature and alb: Autobiography Studies, for permission to reprint material. Several close friends read and commented on parts of this book in various earlier versions. I am happily beholden to Beth Dren- ning, Jeffrey Escoffier, Caren Irr, Neil Levi, Stephanie Oppenheim, Florence Stratton, Kassie Temple, Gary Weissman, and Karen Win- kler. Meeting Beth, Neil, and Gary, with whom I share so many interests and obsessions, has been one of the most rewarding as- pects of writing this book. For the last several years, Jeffrey has been the model for me of what an intellectual can be. Other friends have enriched this project in less direct ways. Julie Ford and Elliot Weininger kept me honest with their social scientific skepticism. My two oldest friends, Carine Montbertrand and Matthew Lore, continue to inspire me through their creativity and vitality. And Molly McGarry always enlivens any discussion with her humor and intelligence. My parents, Sondra Rothberg and Joseph Rothberg, made the writing of this book possible through their commitment to edu- cation and intellectual life. I hope my sister and brother-in-law, Madeleine Rothberg and Dylan Jones, will find something of interest here. It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me when I say that without Yasemin Yildiz this book, indeed my whole life, would be a lesser thing. Dedicating this book to her is only the slightest indication of what she means to me. This drawing by Art Spiegelman first appeared in Tikkun maga- zine, accompanying the article "Saying Goodbye to Maus." Introduction The Demands of Holocaust Representation As a constellation, theoretical thought circles the concept it would like to unseal, hoping that it may fly open like the lock of a well-guarded safe-deposit box: in response, not to a single key or a single number, but to a combination of numbers.