| Abstrakt: |
The article describes Polish popular novels about Auschwitz, dominated by the sexualized violence of Nazi torturers against their victims. The author analyzes in detail books by Dominik W. Rettinger Sekret Elizy (Eliza’s Secret) and Max Czornyj Bestia zBuchenwaldu,Kat z Płaszowa, Mengele (Buchenwald’s Beast, Płaszów Executioner, Mengele). The research perspective oriented toward the readerly affects exerted by novels “from Auschwitz” – excitement, horror, fascination – allows the author to overcome the usual descriptions of popular culture as ripe with the suffering of victims, kitsch, and commercialized representations of trauma. In turn, the author posits that the exciting form of the novel – which is supposed to constitute a marketing success – ultimately serves to reassure readers about and distance them from the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
