„Lagerarchäologie“ zwischen Bürgerinitiativen und Denkmalpflege am Beispiel des KZ-Komplexes Natzweiler

Abstract

In German archaeology the engagement with material traces of the modern period is a rather recent development which is dominated by the focus on remnants of Nazi crimes, in particular at sites of former internment camps. While research as well as heritage protection faces numerous methodological and practical challenges when studying or assessing remains of the recent past, an archaeology of recent crimes in particular requires a reflection on the relationship of the conservation and archaeological practice and social discourse. Places of Nazi crimes are physical reminders of Nazi terror and the suffering of millions of people and thus constitute highly ambivalent entities. As authentic and locally rooted remains of violence and suffering they may become historical sources of past atrocities or focal points for remembrance discourses, while their deliberate negation on the other hand may cast a criminal and painful history into oblivion. The Baden-Wuerttemberg State Office for Cultural Heritage Management currently runs a documentation project that archaeologically assesses the material traces of satellite camps of the Natzweiler concentration camp in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Using this project as an example, this article discusses the relationship of state-led heritage protection and civil initiatives, who engage in commemoration and education at former satellite camps.