Visualizing the Memory of World War II: Photographs from Fort VII in Poznań, Poland

Fort VII was a Nazi concentration camp established during World War II on Polish territory, which, after the war, was long omitted from the official historical narrative. Photographs constitute a significant part of the exhibit of the museum created in the 1980’s on that site and play an important role in creating the memory of it. By applying the theory of Roland Barthes, the author analyses the visual history of the commemoration of Fort VII in Poznań, Poland, and demonstrates that photography constitutes a specific language, evokes emotions, and contributes to the creation of narratives concerning historical sites of conscience as well as to the visualization of memory of such sites.