The dead wrote their memory: Postmemory and metafiction in 21st century Europe

Abstract

In Spain, as well as Germany, the official public discourse has struggled between remembering the victims and a necessary oblivion in order to focus on the future. In general, literature has taken on the responsibility of keeping alive the memory of the dead left by the traumatic history of Europe’s twentieth century. The works of Alberto Méndez and Michel Bergman reflect such time, framed by the “postmemory” typical of the descendants of the witnessing generation. The powerful testimonies of these witnesses are incorporated into the works Manuscrito encontrado en el olvido (2004) and Weinhebers Koffer (2015) through metafiction turned into a resource that allows the dead to have their own voice.