Changing Phenomenologies of Objects of National Socialism: Toward a Curatorial Phenomenology

This article explores “awkward objects,” specifically objects related to National Socialism. The author adopts a phenomenological approach, focusing on the meanings and uses of “awkward” and related terms, and examining how curators and others have described and treated objects of National Socialism in practice. Through an ethnographic examination of the challenges curators face in managing the collection and display of objects related to National Socialism at the Documentation Center of the Nazi Party Rally Grounds in Nuremberg, this article describes how the Documentation Center’s approach to collecting has evolved since its opening in 2001. Initially, the Center did not collect objects and intended to show only a few items. Reluctantly, it began accepting objects that citizens sought to donate, and most recently, it adopted an ongoing policy of inviting donations. In its analysis of this shift, this article considers wider changes both in Germany and internationally. It discusses how curators apprehend, reflect upon, and construe the experiential qualities and potential of objects, and how they develop changing strategies to work with and against these qualities and potentials, as part of what the author calls “curatorial phenomenology.” The author gives particular attention to the distinctions made by curators between documentation and objects, as well as between perpetrator objects and objects that belonged to the victims. In addition, the article also considers the shifting sensibilities required for effective communication between generations. It argues that “awkward objects” are particularly valuable resources that enable visitor communication because of the questions they raise.