Abstract(s)
This paper deals with the editing
process of Harun Farocki’s Respite [Aufschub] and it's interpretation by visual historians. The approach tries to
create links between film history, based on close readings of archives, and cultural studies, based on readings of film
interpretation. Firstly, it is the result of a systematic comparison between the footage shot by an inmate in the Transit
camp of Westerbork (Holland) during the Holocaust, and the film edited between 2007 and 2008. Secondly, this
comparison is linked to papers about Respite, published between 2008 and 2016 (Didi-Huberman, Elsaesser, Kékesi,
Kramer, Lindeperg, Rascaroli). This experimental film – the case study of this essay – leads to a better understanding
of Holocaust representation and of some patterns of our current visual culture..