Traces of Aerial Bombing in Berlin: Entangled Remembering

The Black Lives Matter movement of 2020 highlighted the destruction of monuments, forcing nations to confront their national histories. Eloise Florence's book explores the relationship between violence, place, and memory in the Anglo-American consciousness, focusing on Teufelsberg and other sites of violence in Berlin. It uses new materialism and post-humanism to examine the use and abuse of area bombing and its cultural memory, addressing topics such as memorializing war and trauma, challenging war mythologies, and curating for tourists.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 11 January 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

The Black Lives Matter movement of 2020 brought to light the devastating impact of destroying monuments across various nations. It becomes evident that the physical elements of our streets play a vital role in shaping our historical, political, and cultural identity. In this exploration, Eloise Florence delves into Berlin and the prevailing English-language narratives surrounding World War II. Through the lens of Teufelsberg, a hill born from the rubble of Allied bombing, and other sites of violence in Germany's capital, Florence examines the intricate relationship between violence, place, and memory within the Anglo-American consciousness.

This interdisciplinary study employs theories of new materialism and post-humanism, drawing on extensive empirical and auto-ethnographic data. It addresses key issues such as the embodied memorialization of war and trauma through urban landscapes, the reimagining of destruction as a means to challenge or reinforce traditional war mythologies, and the role of curation in facilitating tourists' reflection on the impact of British and American aerial raids, including modern drone warfare.

Traces of Aerial Bombing in Berlin is a groundbreaking volume that sheds light on both the dark legacy of the aerial bombing of Berlin and the broader context of recording and interpreting violent histories. It serves as an invaluable resource for scholars of World War II, memory culture, and public history, offering a fresh perspective on the complexities of this historical period.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350268999