The Material Culture of Nazi Camps: An Editorial

Abstract

The impetus for this special issue of the International Journal of Historical Archaeology lie in the three seasons of excavation that took place at the forced labor camp of Lager Wick in Jersey between 2014 and 2016. The excavation was directed by Gilly Carr, funded by the British Academy in a joint project involving Gilly Carr and Marek E. Jasinski, and also involved the two guest co-editors, who were invited to dig in different years (Marek E. Jasinski in 2014, Claudia Theune in 2015, and paper contributor Ivar Schute in 2016). In addition the three guest editors of this special issue cooperated closely during excavations, surveys, and workshops at the Falstad Camp site in Norway led by Marek E. Jasinski in 2010, 2014, and 2015. This special issue was provoked by the many conversations on both sites regarding, initially, the rules, guidelines, and expectations produced by the many different regions and countries in Europe which dictate what is excavated and kept, and what is redeposited and carefully returned to the ground. This variation clearly had the ability to affect what was retained for study from camps in different countries, with a resulting knock-on effect upon what was published and / or included in exhibitions. As the excavation of Nazi camps is still a relatively newbut growingfield, excavators from all over Europe clearly have much to learn from and share with each other. It was for this reason that experienced colleagues from across Europe were invited to join the digs in Jersey and Norway. Insight from other camps, their layout,

Archaeological Heritage Management and Science on War and Terror Sites in Brandenburg, Germany

“…However, an equally important goal must be communicating information, whether at the original site, in the museum, or in appropriate formats at the memorial sites. It is along these lines that scholars investigating the remnants of German internment camps on the British Channel Islands, for example, recommend taking a 'non-invasive approach' (Sturdy-Colls and Colls 2013, 128;Carr and Jasinski 2014;Carr et al 2018).…”

Military supply, everyday demand, and reindeer: Zooarchaeology of Nazi German Second World War military presence in Finnish Lapland, Northernmost Europe

“…Most of the waste accumulated understandably in the rubbish pits and dumps used by the German guards, because the material culture of PoWs was meager, and they most likely attempted to reuse all the available materials (see Carr et al, 2017; Carr & Mytum, 2012; Seitsonen, 2020; Theune, 2018). The lower limb bones of reindeer encountered among the prisoners' food waste might have been scavenged from the skinning waste dumped in the guards' mixed waste deposits to supplement the poor diet.…”

Lived experience and the Holocaust: spaces, senses and emotions in Auschwitz

“…For the 'bio-geopolitical' nexus in the Third Reich, Giaccaria & Minca (2016b: 29). 15 Carr et al (2018); Cole (2003); Knowles et al (2014);Sturdy Colls (2015). 16 Pioneering studies include Dwork & van Pelt (1997); Gutschow (2001).…”