Flieder, 1945 / Lilac, 2015 : visibility, memory, gender : writing and re-imagining National Socialist atrocity for the stage

This dissertation examines the case of two satellite concentration camps of Buchenwald in the German towns of Altenburg and Meuselwitz and the fate of the – mostly female – prisoners, forced to work in the factories of the arms manufacturer HASAG. The dissertation itself consists of two parts: In the stage play "Flieder, 1945 / Lilac, 2015", I investigate the history and memory of the camps, factories, and the community which produced those through the frayed relationships of three generations of German women and a group of prisoners attempting to survive the camp. The commentary "Visibility, Memory, Gender: Writing and Re-imagining National Socialist Atrocity for the Stage" addresses the history of the camps in Altenburg and Meuselwitz, documents the creative process, and engages with various theatrical and filmic representation of National Socialist atrocity. Particular focus is placed on questions of visibility of atrocity, the role of the ‘bystander’, and the female experience of atrocity, as well as the implications of the legacy of National Socialism for next-generation Germans.