Film 'The Ister' (2004) Examines Heidegger's Silence on the Holocaust Through Hölderlin's Poetry
The 2004 documentary 'The Ister,' created by David Barison and Daniel Ross, provides a critical examination of Martin Heidegger's lectures from 1942 regarding Friedrich Hölderlin's poem 'Der Ister,' particularly noting his failure to address the Holocaust. The narrative takes viewers on a reverse path along the Danube River, showcasing issues like industrial waste, pollution, and the plight of refugees. Philosophers such as Bernard Stiegler, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, and Jean-Luc Nancy reflect on Heidegger's 1941 decision to remove a dedication to his Jewish mentor, Edmund Husserl. The film links Heidegger's lectures during the 'Final Solution' to his neglect of Jewish suffering, employing techniques like inversion and montage to challenge representation and portray the 'Jew' as a voiceless entity in his philosophy.
Key facts
- The film 'The Ister' was released in 2004 by directors David Barison and Daniel Ross
- It analyzes Martin Heidegger's 1942 lectures on Friedrich Hölderlin's poem 'Der Ister'
- The documentary travels backwards along the Danube River from Romania to Germany
- Heidegger removed a dedication to his Jewish teacher Edmund Husserl in 1941
- Bernard Stiegler, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, and Jean-Luc Nancy appear in interviews
- The film critiques Heidegger's silence on the Holocaust and Jewish suffering
- It employs techniques like inversion, repetition, and montage to challenge representation
- The Danube River serves as a central metaphor for memory, origin, and historical trauma
Entities
Artists
- David Barison
- Daniel Ross
- Martin Heidegger
- Friedrich Hölderlin
- Bernard Stiegler
- Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe
- Jean-Luc Nancy
- Edmund Husserl
- Walter Biemel
- Sigmund Freud
- Theodor Adorno
- Bertolt Brecht
- Paul Celan
- Norbert von Hellingrath
- Sophocles
- Antigone
- Robert S. Gall
- James K. Lyon
- Jean-François Lyotard
- Dragan Kujundzic
- Scott Nygren
- Galili Shahar
- David Ross
- Tracy Barrison
- Jean-Paul Sartre
- Jacques Derrida
- Maureen Turim
- Hannah Arendt
- Gilles Deleuze
- Félix Guattari
- Victor Farias
- Jean-Pierre Faye
- Hans-Jürgen Syberberg
- Michel Foucault
- King Ludwig of Bavaria
- Friedrich Nietzsche
- David Barrison
Institutions
- ARTMargins Online
- Suhrkamp Verlag
- Vittorio Klostermann
- Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag
- Indiana University Press
- Insel Verlag
- Basil Blackwell
- John Hopkins University Press
- Passagen
- European Union
- University of Melbourne
- University of Florida
- INA (L'Institut National de l'Audiovisuel)
- IRCAM (L'Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique)
- Centre Georges-Pompidou
- Freiburg University
- Black Box Sound and Image
Locations
- Gainesville
- Romania
- Germany
- Danube River
- Verdun
- France
- Auschwitz
- Mauthausen
- Europe
- Greek
- English
- American
- French
- Latin
- Anglo-American
- Australia
- Greece
- Austria
- Serbia
- Croatia
- Black Forest
- Histria
- Novi Sad
- Vukovar
- United States
- Yugoslavia
- Hungary
Sources
- ARTMargins —
- ARTMargins —
- ARTMargins —