27 - Landscapes of destruction

Summary

Examining six iconic images of the Second World War, this chapter seeks to question the relationship between landscapes of destruction, their photographic representation, and the creation of historical narratives. Each of photographs reveals a specific relationship to distinct landscapes of war and modes of destruction as well as to their subsequent historicization, which was frequently tied to conflicting notions of ideology and commemoration. Through photographs, violence receives a social purpose because the depicted act has been witnessed by a photographer and received by an audience. The photographed victims of such acts of violence have no chance to add their consent to the particular use of the picture, hence they might be victimized again. War photographs are particularly powerful if they not only depict what is present, but also manage to capture implied absences in landscapes of destruction because this forces us to think about the deeper implications of violence on physical environments as well as landscapes of the memory.