Fantazje o świadkowaniu
Fantasies of Witnessing

Summary/Abstract: A Polish translation of the epilog of Anne Rothe’s book Popular Trauma Culture: Sellingthe Pain of Others in the Mass Media (Rutgers UP, New Brunswick, New Jersey, London2011). Rothe analyzes how the Holocaust in American popular culture has becomea paradigmatic representation of evil. The success of Holocaust survivor testimonies,diaries, and memoirs among the general public has inspired filmmakers, novelists, andfake personal documentary literature. The appeal of these narratives lies in absorbingthe reader with an individual tragedy staged in a simple, black-and-white world. Byempathizing with another person’s pain and indulging in the fantasy of their ownwitnessing of the Holocaust, the recipients detach themselves from contemporarypolitical, economic, and social conditions, in which they feel helpless and lost. Anadditional advantage of Holocaust narratives is the seal of authenticity, which intensifiesthe power of their impact in a reality experienced every day as inauthentic and devoid ofdeeper meaning. This mechanism paves way to a better understanding why – among themany destinations of so-called dark tourism – the most popular remain the museumsmemorialsites established on the grounds of former extermination camps.

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