Description
Book SynopsisSpaniards in Mauthausen is the first study of the cultural legacy of Spaniards imprisoned and killed during the Second World War in the Nazi concentration camp Mauthausen. By examining narratives about Spanish Mauthausen victims over the past seventy years, author Sara J. Brenneis provides a historical, critical, and chronological analysis of a virtually unknown body of work.
Diverse accounts from survivors of Mauthausen, chronicled in letters, artwork, photographs, memoirs, fiction, film, theatre, and new media, illustrate how Spaniards have become cognizant of the Spanish government’s relationship to the Nazis and its role in the victimization of Spanish nationals in Mauthausen. As political prisoners, their numbers and experiences differ significantly from the millions of Jews exterminated by Hitler, yet the Spaniards in Mauthausen were nevertheless objects of Nazi violence and witnesses to the Holocaust.
Trade Review"A painstaking and definitive book." -- Ariel Dorfman * The New York Review of Books *
"Brenneis has crafted a cohesive and thought-provoking study on the experiences of Spaniards in Mauthausen, which is underpinned by meticulous research, and engagingly written. A strength of the book is its multidisciplinary approach, combining theories of narrative and memory with Holocaust Studies and historiography. Spaniards in Mauthausen is a valuable contribution not only to Spanish cultural history, but also to Holocaust Studies, and likely to stimulate important critical debate." -- Andrea Hepworth, Victoria University of Wellington *
Bulletin of Spanish Studies *
"Spaniards in Mauthausen advances historical memory discourse by contributing new voices to the conversation as it brings forth representations of Spaniards from concentration camps to form a part of the historiography of the Spanish Civil War and Franco dictatorship." -- Wendy Perla Kurtz *
Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies *
"Brenneis’ work critically analyzes an unfamiliar topic from a cultural perspective. The book immerses us in a complex history, which is only now slowly being revealed to Spanish society." -- Santiago López Rodríguez *
Holocaust and Genocide Studies *
"Sara Brenneis' terrific monograph...makes a timely and important contribution to memory studies both in Spain and across a wider transnational field." -- Maria Delgado *
Times Higher Education *
"[A]n evocatively written reflection on Mauthausen today – as a physical and imagined space – that reads like a compelling piece of long-form reporting." -- Sebastiaan Faber *
Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispanos *
"The book is thorough and informative. The bibliography is abundant and pertinent. It is a good source of information about the representation of the Spaniards in Mauthausen." -- Silvia Ribelles de la Vega *
University of Toronto Quarterly: Letters in Canada 2018 *
Table of ContentsThe View from Inside: Clandestine Representations and Testimony of Mauthausen (1940-46) Postwar Impressions: The First Published Representations of the Camp (1945-1963) Transitions: Early Accounts of Mauthausen (1970s) Memories Unleashed: Mauthausen after Franco (1980-2015) Mauthausen Today
