Marcel Cohen's 'Sur la scène intérieure' Revisits Holocaust Memory Through Intimate Objects

Marcel Cohen's book 'Sur la scène intérieure' (Gallimard) offers a radically different approach to Holocaust testimony, focusing not on atrocities but on mundane objects and family photographs. Born in 1937, Cohen lost his entire family—parents, sister, grandparents, uncles, grand-aunt—to Auschwitz in 1943-1944. He survived thanks to his building's concierge and a Breton maid named Annette. The book's chapters are titled with names, birth dates, and convoy numbers: Maria Cohen (born 9 Oct 1915, Istanbul, Convoy 63, 17 Dec 1943), Jacques Cohen (born 20 Feb 1902, Istanbul, Convoy 59, 2 Sep 1943), Monique Cohen (born 14 May 1943, Asnières, Convoy 63, 17 Dec 1943), Sultana Cohen (born 1871, Istanbul, Convoy 59, 2 Sep 1943), Mercado Cohen (born 1864, Istanbul, Convoy 59, 2 Sep 1943). Cohen describes his mother as 'Marie,' never 'mother' or 'mom,' emphasizing distance. The book is built from 'silence, gaps, and absence,' drawing on testimonies from survivors. Objects like an egg cup, a child's toy, a yellow dog made of oilcloth, an empty trunk, a hairnet, a pot of pomade, and a leather handbag evoke lost lives. Cohen recalls wearing the yellow star and fleeing identity checks. He questions whether writers grant 'exaggerated power' to books, yet his own work resists becoming 'inaudible.'