Picturing the Unimaginable
Ten contemporary artists from the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium have contributed to the Graphic Novel-Project “Picturing the Unimaginable”. They have depicted stories from three former concentration camps – the Neuengamme Concentration Camp in Germany, the Kazerne Dossin in Belgium, and the Lager Westerbork in the Netherlands. The Kazerne Dossin und the Lager Westerbork were collection camps in which Jewish citizens of the Netherlands and Belgium were required to live before deportation.
The origin of the Graphic Novel-Project was an 80-year-old comic, which the Dutch historian Kees Ribben from “Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies” in Amsterdam newly rediscovered. 1944, the artist August M. Fröhlich presented in the form of an illustrated history in six panels, what happened after the departure of a deportation train in an extermination camp. The brutal presentation of scenes on the way to the gas chamber do not show a specific camp; Fröhlich was likely familiar with reports of liberation of the Majdanek concentration and extermination camp by Soviet troops on 23rd of July, 1994. The comic, “Nazi Death Parade” was then published in the United States in the beginning of 1945, when most of the concentration camps were still fully operational.
Based on this work in format, a short pictorial narrative, showing various biographies from the concentration camps, ten illustrators developed their own comics, which are now being shown at the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial. The project was accompanied by intensive discussions about the representation of violence. “The approaches are different” says Alexandra Köhring, Foundation of Hamburg Memorials, “some representations depict pictures and sounds through onomatopoeia, others integrate stronger dialog. Some chose realistic approach, others mimic the style of a political poster, others remain abstract.” So can a diverse range of exploring history through illustrations.
These graphic novels can now be seen in the Foyer of the Main Exhibition of the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial alongside with historical objects and audio-visual documents. There is a participation station in the memorial, which motivates visitors to add their own drawings.
The book “Picturing the Unimaginable” is published in four languages (German, English, French, Dutch).
Artists: Erik de Graaf, Melanie Kranenburg, Sterric, Jennifer Daniel, B. Carrot, Wide Vercnocke, Milan Hulsing, Tobi Dahmen, Jeroen Janssen & Arezoo Moradi, Guido van Driel.
The Project Picturing the Unimaginable was started by the Kamp Westerbork Memorial and is a collaboration between the Kamp Westerbork Memorial, the Kazerne Dossin, the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial, the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Publisher Scratch Books. It was realized with support from Dutch Culture, Mondriaan Fund, Creative Industries F und NL and the Dutch Embassy in Belgium.
