Memory mediation by first- and second-generation survivors: Why they said nothing: mother and daughter on one and the same war by Magda Bošan Simin and Nevena Simin

Abstract

The reasons for researching the works of Yugoslav author Magda Bošan Simin are several: (1) her novel "When the Sour Cherries Bloom" (1958) was probably the first literary representation of the Holocaust written by a woman author in Yugoslavia; (2) Bošan Simin represents the Holocaust in multiple formats (documentary prose, memoir, autobiographical novel); (3) the book "Why They Said Nothing: Mother and Daughter on One and the Same War" (2009, English edition 2015) is a narrative comprised of texts written by both Magda Bošan Simin as a Holocaust survivor and her daughter Nevena Simin as a second-generation Holocaust survivor. The research focuses on Holocaust survivors and their post-Holocaust children, issues of memory in Holocaust representation, types of memory, memory mediation, author’s intentionality, and gender and identity issues.

Razloga za istraživanja dela jugoslovenske autorke Magde Bošan Simin je nekoliko: (1) njen roman "Kad cvetaju višnje" (1958.) verovatno prvi književni prikaz Holokausta koji je napisala žena autor u Jugoslaviji; (2) Bošan Simin predstavlja Holokaust u više formata (dokumentarna proza, memoari, autobiografski roman); (3) knjiga "Zašto su ćutale: majka i ćerka u istom ratu" (2009, Englesko izdanje 2015) je narativ koji se sastoji od tekstova koje su napisale obe - Magde Bošan Simin kao preživela Holokausta i njena ćerka Nevena Simin kao druga generacija preživele Holokaust. Istraživanje se fokusira na preživele Holokausta i njihovu decu posle Holokausta, pitanje sećanja u predstavljanju Holokausta, vrste pamćenja, posredovanje u pamćenju, autorska intencionalnost, pol i pitanja identiteta.