Picturing the Unimaginable

Inspired by the graphic novel Picturing the Unimaginable, Dr. Tatia Gruenbaum met with Bas Kortholt (Camp Westerbork) in August 2024. Bas was coordinating the graphic novel and its travelling exhibition and was interested in a university course pilot project.

Supported by Prof. Dr Carmen Becker, Tatia, together with Jan Rauhut and Merle Bierman, developed a hybrid (elective) course with an online-only option for students residing abroad. The course was designed for a mixed-discipline cohort and focused on exploring the contribution visual children’s Holocaust literature (picturebooks and graphic novels) could make to supporting GCED and promoting the UNCRC. It also included a collaborative element with (ITESS) student teachers at NHS Stenden (NL) and their teacher educator, Heike Tattje, during the final graphic-novel-based workshop days.

The course was well attended and received. And so, it will continue to run in 25/26, thus contributing to the need for the virtual exhibition project. (Read more below)

To promote the course 'Picturing the Unimaginable, posters were put up across the TU Braunschweig Campus Nord. The promotional efforts were successful. 

Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik der Technischen Universität Braunschweig

• Dr. Tatia Gruenbaum | tatia.gruenbaum(at)tu-braunschweig.de
• Prof. Dr. Carmen Becker | c.becker(at)tu-braunschweig.de
• Merle Biermann | merle.biermann(at)tu-braunschweig.de
• Jan Rauhut | j.rauhut(at)tu-braunschweig.de 
• Le Thuc Anh Mai | l.mai(at)tu-braunschweig.de
   

Camp Westerbork Memorial Centre

• Bas Kortholt | bas(at)kampwesterbork.nl
   

The NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies 

• Prof. Dr. Kees Ribbens | k.ribbens(at)niod.knaw.nl

Created by the Landecker Digital Memory Lab, this digital map presents over 350 Holocaust memory projects from around the world. It is a precursor to the 'living database-archive', which is currently under development. 

The course 'Picturing the Unimaginable: Empower critical thinking, inspire unity & hope' and the virtual edition of the travelling exhibition for the graphic novel 'Picturing the Unimaginable: Ten Comic Authors. Ten Stories about the Holocaust and Other Nazi Crimes', which inspired & underpinned this course - has been added to the Landecker Digital Memory Map.

You can access the Digital Memory Map here:

Landecker Digital Memory Map