Jean Améry : Revolte in der Resignation : Biographie

Emphasizes, on the one hand, Améry's ideological development and, on the other, his attitude to his writing and his frustrated desire to be recognized as a creative writer and not merely as an essayist and "professional" Auschwitz symbol. Pp. 70-103 describe Améry's Holocaust experiences: his exile from Austria, his flight from Gurs, the torture he underwent in Breendonck for his activities in the Belgian resistance, then Auschwitz and Dora. Pp. 185-259 discuss his "autobiographical trilogy" (1966-1968), which includes "Jenseits von Schuld und Sühne", in which he relates these experiences; other parts of the trilogy deal with Nazism and the fate of being a Jew. This trilogy brought Améry fame and popularity; he was constantly called upon to represent Holocaust survivors in public debates in Germany. He fought passionately against former Nazis and against Germans who clamored that it was time to forget. Unlike Primo Levi, he felt that there was nothing prisoners could learn from the concentration camp experience and that it was wholly negative and destructive. Nevertheless, posits that Améry's suicide in 1978 was not so much due to Auschwitz as to more recent personal disappointments and problems. Includes bibliographical references (pages 359-394) and indexes. 408 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm