Archival photographs' usage strategies in the holocaust documentary

This bachelor’s thesis questions the power of montage in Polish Holocaust documentaries. It tries to answer the following questions: 1. How does montage change the primary meaning of archival photographs? 2. Can an archival photograph escape the entitled power relations and hierarchy of Nazi regime by using different montage strategies (outlined by G. Did-Huberman)? The main problem of this article can be established as: how does montage change the primary meanings of archival photographs meanings of political Holocaust tragedy and create the representation of Holocaust? Thesis analyses 3 Polish Holocaust documentary films: Ireneusz Dobrawolski (dir.) “Portraitist”, Marian Marzynski (dir.) “Shtetl” and Dariusz Jablonski “Fotoamator” (other documentaries are used as examples or context). Using the hermeneutical method films were analysed using R. Barthes, A. Sekula (and others Foucaultians), G. Didi-Huberman, B. Nichols, A. Kerner ideas. Bachelor’s thesis can be seen as an extension to the famous argument, which was established after Claude Lanzmann documentary “Shoah”. Even though, it is clear, that there is no one archival photo, which could tell the story of Holocaust perfectly, one must not refuse to look at them or analyse them, as they are at least the empirical evidence of Holocaust brutality and cruelty. One must understand, that every scene of Holocaust documentaries and its meaning is unique. Therefore, there is no need to name all of the meaning changes of archival photos after montage and other techniques were established. But, there can be made broader conclusions. First, montage is a very important tool, which can drastically change the primary meanings of an archival photograph. Second, if the primary meaning of the photograph changes, it can be said, that the power relations of photographs established by Nazi regime weakens or disappears entirely. Third, montage power increases when it is used next to a text or testimony. Forth, montage is never a meta-archive, so it is strongly dependent on the presentation of the material and subjective interpretation, the usage of montage opens an opportunity to create representation of Holocaust. Fifth, R. Barthes studium and punctum is strongly based on subject, therefore no clear conclusion can be made, but one is clear – montage can at least increase the chance of stadium/punctum. This thesis adds to analysis of Polish Holocaust documentaries and creates a new angle of Holocaust documentaries reading – the power of montage. Suggested further works could analyse the importance of testimony or to compare strategies used in different countries (for example, Eastern Europe and Western Europe). Also, the main question cannot be forgotten – can a person talk/think/create films about Holocaust