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Info / context to the poems
In the lamenting dialogue with one's own emotional situation, the fear of death is given a name. By naming the fear, it becomes possible to capture it in the poetic form. The verbal exchange that occurs in writing poetry has immediate therapeutic value, for the self comes into direct contact with itself and searchs for creative forms of self-description. The real situation, of course, could not be altered. In poetic speak, a longing that is still alive finds its place of expression. The closed form of the poem preserves the desire for escape as if in a "vessel." It helps in naming as well as overcoming the inner state of deadly paralysis in that the invoking search for a vis-à-vis is not abandoned. (C. Jaiser)
Dr. phil. Constanze Jaiser
Literature scholar and theologian
Publications on the subject, include:
Poetische Zeugnisse. Gedichte aus dem Frauen-Konzentrationslager Ravensbrück. Stuttgart/Weimar 2000
Europa im Kampf 1939-1944. Internationale Poesie aus dem Frauen-Konzentrationslager Ravensbrück. Berlin 2009
Ein Schmuggelfund aus dem KZ – Erinnerung, Kunst und Menschenwürde. Berlin 2012