A Message in a Bottle for the Contemporary World and Posterity: Paul Celanâs âA Death Fugueâ

Thomas Sparr

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A Message in a Bottle for the Contemporary World and Posterity: Paul Celanâs âA Death Fugueâ

In: Readings of Trauma

Author:

Thomas Sparr

Thomas Sparr
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Translator:

Robert Britten

Robert Britten
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 3â9

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.30965/9783657794560_002

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Abstract

Paul Celanâs âDeath Fugueâ, which tells the history of Jewish persecution and death during the Holocaust, is one of the most famous poem of the 20th century. It has become a symbol for Jewish suffering, lending words for the unspeakable horror in the speechless situation after World War II. In his article, Thomas Sparr suggests reading the poem as a traumatic text. While many of the witnesses who had personal knowledge of the circumstances have died, the poem remains as âa message in a bottleâ, sent to the contemporary reader and posterity.

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Readings of Trauma

Hermeneutical Perspectives on Biblical and Modern Trauma Narratives

Series:Â Studies in Cultural Contexts of the Bible, Volume: 15

E-Book ISBN:: 9783657794560

Publisher:: Brill | SchÃ¶ningh

Print Publication Date:: 25 Nov 2025

Subjects
- Theology and World Christianity
  - General

Front Matter

Part I Readability of Trauma: Hermeneutical Questions and Foundations

Part II Trauma Narratives in the Hebrew Bible

Part III Texts and Contexts: (Re-) Readings in Modernity

Part IV Reading and Re-Reading the Vulnerable Life

Part V Listening, Reading, Witnessing: Coping with Open Wounds

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African Studies	Education	Media Studies
American Studies	History	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Ancient Near East and Egypt	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law	Musicology
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Asian Studies	International Relations	Religious Studies
Biblical Studies	Jewish Studies	Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Biology	Languages and Linguistics	Social Sciences
Book History and Cartography	Life Sciences	Theology and World Christianity
Classical Studies	Literature and Cultural Studies

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A Message in a Bottle for the Contemporary World and Posterity: Paul Celanâs âA Death Fugueâ

Abstract

Citation Info

Share link with colleague or librarian

Readings of Trauma

Hermeneutical Perspectives on Biblical and Modern Trauma Narratives

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A Message in a Bottle for the Contemporary World and Posterity: Paul Celanâs âA Death Fugueâ