Women’s hair in Lager narratives Cover Image

Women’s hair in Lager narratives
Women’s hair in Lager narratives

Author(s): Barbara Czarnecka
Subject(s): Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: women’s Lager experiences; women’s camp narratives; hair; shaving; corporeality; rape

Summary/Abstract: The article offers an analysis of women’s Lager narratives in which the procedure of removing hair from female prisoners of concentration camps was reflected. It indicates the procedure’s cultural, social, and psychological meanings presenting it as an element of the extensive camp strategy of violence, a ritual of downgrading, and a form of violating a woman’s identity and intimacy. By presenting various circumstances in which women were shaved in the camps, it also indicates the situation-based complexity of the camp experience, its various stages, and contexts. The text refers to various sources, and considers the experiences of women of various nationalities, e.g. Germans, Poles, and Jews.

  • Issue Year: 46/2017
  • Issue No: 8
  • Page Range: 145-166
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: English
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