The Terezín Diaries of Egon Redlich from the Perspective of Writing Theory Cover Image

The Terezín Diaries of Egon Redlich from the Perspective of Writing Theory
The Terezín Diaries of Egon Redlich from the Perspective of Writing Theory

Author(s): Zbyněk Fišer
Subject(s): Czech Literature, Fascism, Nazism and WW II, History of the Holocaust, Theory of Literature
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: Literary diary; holocaust; prison diary;

Summary/Abstract: The texts of Egon Redlich are viewed from the perspective of theory and didactics of text composition, in which autobiographic writing has mainly abreactive functions for the writer. The Terezín diaries (1942–1944) of Egon Redlich (1916–1944) are written in the form of a chronicle for his fiancée or a biography for his new-born son. For their author, the entries had more than just documentary or cathartic purpose. The text’s gradually developing literary methods (intertextuality, generic variability ranging from chronicle and description to exemplum and anecdote, to humour and irony) is what makes the diaries a literarily valuable message to readers who manage to outlive the absurd war.

  • Issue Year: 16/2013
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 47-55
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: English