Brushstrokes of Trauma and a Work Without an Author: Navigating The Canvas of Politics, Trauma and Memory in Never Look Away (2018)

Book: Cultural Memory in Translation: Revisiting Cultural Memory Through Interpretative Lens from India by CSMFL Publications

Ramyani Banerjee
Guest Lecturer, Department of History, Vivekananda College, Kolkata, India.

10.46679/9789349926639ch04
This chapter is a part of: Cultural Memory in Translation: Revisiting Cultural Memory Through Interpretative Lens from India
ISBN (Ebook):978-93-49926-63-9
ISBN (Hardcover Print):978-93-49926-41-7
ISBN (Softcover Print):978-93-49926-75-2

© CSMFL Publications & its authors.
Published: November 10, 2025

Banerjee, R. (2025). Brushstrokes of Trauma and a Work Without an Author: Navigating The Canvas of Politics, Trauma and Memory in Never Look Away (2018). In A. G. Uppal & D. Barot, Cultural Memory in Translation: Revisiting Cultural Memory Through Interpretative Lens (pp 39-52). CSMFL Publications. https://dx.doi.org/10.46679/9789349926639ch04

Abstract

This analysis examines Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Never Look Away (2018) as a cinematic exploration of post-reunification German identity, artistic freedom, and historical trauma. Through the fictional protagonist Kurt Barnert—loosely based on renowned painter Gerhard Richter—the film navigates the complex landscape of 20th-century German history, from Nazi Germany through the GDR era to West German liberation. The narrative centers on the haunting directive to “never look away,” inherited from Kurt’s aunt Elisabeth who becomes a victim of Nazi euthanasia programs, serving as both a personal mantra and broader metaphor for confronting historical atrocities. By examining the parallel oppression of artistic expression under both Nazi and Communist regimes, the film critiques totalitarian control while celebrating art’s transformative power to process collective trauma. The study argues that von Donnersmarck’s deliberate blending of biographical fact with fictional narrative creates a more profound exploration of Vergangenheitsbewältigung—Germany’s ongoing struggle to confront its past—while addressing contemporary debates about memory, identity, and the role of art in healing societal wounds. Through its controversial portrayal of historical events and its emphasis on artistic liberation, Never Look Away emerges as a significant contribution to post-reunification German cinema’s dual mission of historical reckoning and cultural identity formation.

Keywords: Vergangenheitsbewältigung, Post-Reunification German Cinema, Historical Trauma And Memory, Artistic Freedom Under Totalitarianism, German Cultural Identity

References

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