Framing contagious images: The Formation of Early Holocaust Memory through Migrating Film Footage from the Nazi Era

This article examines how Nazi-era film footage shaped Holocaust memory in post-war German film documentaries. From the mid-1950s, filmmakers began using previously unreleased archival footage to document the persecution of European Jews, a subject that had been largely suppressed until then. These films often relied on unpublished records from propaganda units, soldiers and Nazi officials. As a result, they contain ‘contagious images’ that either had served as propaganda or concealed violence, and often reflected the perpetrators’ detached and cold perspective. Despite these challenges, directors repurposed this footage to expose Nazi crimes and emphasize Jewish suffering, shifting focus away from the perpetrators’ perspective. By analyzing films such as Den BlodigaTiden/Mein Kampf (Bloody Times/My Struggle, 1960, Erwin Leiser) and Auf den Spuren des Henkers (On the Trail of the Hangman, 1961, Peter Schier-Gribowsky), this article explores strategies used to reframe these ‘contagious images’ and analyses how they contributed to a collective memory of the Holocaust. These documentaries countered post-war silence, allowing audiences to engage with repressed histories and fostering a collective reckoning. The use of archival footage not only established and shaped a visual language that underscored the atrocities but also emphasised the importance of memory preservation.