부끄러움의 주체 구성의 장으로서의 증언 다큐멘터리: <히틀러의 비서>와 <그에 대해 알고 있는 두세 가지 것 들> 분석을 중심으로

This essay examines how the Holocaust testimony documentaries, which came out in the 2000s, reflect the changing cultural discourse after the German reunification. Video testimonies and related discourses tended to appear, particularly recording victims’ voices, as in the case of Shoah (Claude Lanzmann, 1985). However, German documentary films in the 2000s frequently depict people involved in the Nazis crimes and the perpetrators’ families, instead of conveying the voices of the Holocaust victims. Significantly, these documentaries adopt the mode of testifying or confessing in front of the camera when these perpetrators seek to reveal the long-kept secret regarding their involvement in Nazi crimes. Then, what is the background in which such documentary testimony or confession has continued to appear in German society during the 2000s? Also, how do they reflect and influence the Holocaust discourses that have changed in German society after the reunification? Considering that these testimonies are carried out in front of the camera, how do these documentary testimonies effectively capture the voices of postwar generations in German society? In an attempt to answer these questions, this study examines two documentary films, Hitler’s Secretary (2002) and 2 or 3 Things I Know About Him (2005) as representative cases that document the perpetrators’ memories in the 2000s. Through this, I seek to understand how testimonies and confession appeared in these documentaries disclose the guilt and shame that the perpetrators of Nazi violence and their children had to carry; and in so doing, how these films reflect (and influence) the changing geography of the German discourse on the Holocaust. My exploration will also highlight how the media aspects embedded in these documentary testimonies help change the way the postwar generations as movie viewers as well as witnesses in the film see the past.