Paul frames this image as a "toxic subject for Germany's cultural memory," and he uses this image to argue against the simple distinction between Germaness and Nazism. He supports this refusal by arguing that the image depicts "a monument for Nazi barbarity as [much as it depicts] a monument for German technological expertise." Is this meant to suggest that there are "survivals" or perhaps a "specter" of Nazism that still haunts the contemporary, embedded in the infrastructures that rely upon technologies developed under the Nazi regime? Is there something particularly fascist about these technologies, these infrastructures?
I am similarly intrigued and confused by Paul's notion of an "inconvenient memorial" and I would like for this to be expounded a bit more. What exactly is it that is inconvenient? Is there some inevitable truth that has been ignored but that this image exposes? If so, what might that truth be and why should we be compelled to accept it as inevitable? I am also curious to know what Paul means when he says that "culture and barbarity are closely intertwined and cannot be separated." Is it that culture is inherently barbaric? Or that all cultures have both human/inhuman dimensions or characteristics? What are the implications here?
Investigating sociocultural impacts of the technological and infrastructural legacy of Nazism is a fascinating topic and obviously ripe for theorizing toxicity, and I commend Paul to taking on such "heavy" subjects. However I am left uncertain as to what exactly I am supposed to conclude from this image and from this discussion. All that being said, I look forward to Paul's continuing work on these topics.
Toxic Legacies.
The absence of color, the heavy reliance on wood for scaffolding, ladders, and other equipment, along with the style of clothing and absence of safety gear all point to the fact that the photograph was taken many decades ago. The caption further explains that the photo was taken in Germany during the Nazi era. Paul goes on to describe how the meaning of this preserved historical moment has become controversial in contemporary discourses around the meaning of Germaness in contradistinction to Naziism.
This image has a lot to look at. I was first drawn to the gaping whole in the ground, wondering exactly what it was that I was looking at. Next I noticed the people caught in action, working at this construction site. One can tell that it is a considerable undertaking, but it is not obvious (at least not to me) what exactly is being undertaken.
This is a documentary photograph. It captures an important-if also unpleasant-moment in German history.