Under keywords such as “Holocaust” or “Auschwitz,” storytelling platforms such as wattpad.com feature hundreds of stories by young authors dealing with central historical events of the 20th century – in different languages, genres, and stages of development. Inspired by school lessons, popular film portrayals, or reading classic works of Holocaust literature, the authors create their own narrative approaches to history.
Despite this diversity and broad accessibility, these narratives and texts have not yet been systematically explored in literary studies or teaching. Yet they offer insights into the possibilities and limitations of digital platforms as places of participatory remembrance and (literary) historiography.
The funded project uses a scalable reading approach to analyze how young writers understand and fictionalize the historical events of the 20th century and what needs their texts serve. The scalable reading approach is a flexible method of analysis that combines both the close reading of individual texts and their computer-assisted evaluation on a larger scale. The study considers the digital environment as a space for action and communication in which memory is collectively negotiated. The project also explores the extent to which these contributions can be used for educational purposes, particularly with a view to the time after the last eyewitnesses.
The Research Unit for Holocaust Literature at the University of Giessen is an interdisciplinary institution dedicated to the literary study of and pedagogical engagement with Holocaust literature. Its work centres on preserving these texts and fostering their critical reception within academic discourse, educational settings, and the broader public sphere.
Jennifer Ehrhardt is a research associate at the Research Unit for Holocaust Literature and is engaged in the Alfred Landecker Foundation-funded research project Digital Literature on Holocaust and National Socialism on Storytelling Platforms.