UNCo- Facultad de Lenguas

Literature in English III 2022

Mid-Term Exam 1 (Revised version)
Rocío B. Pacheco

Books and Words as Lieux de Mémoire in The Book Thief

Pierre Nora sheds light on the interaction between memory and history through
his concept of lieux de mémoire, or sites of memory. He claims that these are different
from lieux d’histoire since they have the clear purpose “to stop time, to block the work
of forgetting, to establish a state of things, to immortalize death, to materialize the
immaterial” (19). Most importantly, they represent an intention to remember by carrying
three distinguishable dimensions: they are material, symbolic and functional. These
coexist and merge into concrete and abstract objects of memory such as a name, a
landscape, a monument or a ritual. Considering Nora’s contributions, the film The Book
Thief can be analysed as a lieu de mémoire as it materializes the traumatic
experiences faced by the Jewish and the German during the Holocaust. Certainly,
since the film revolves around books and the importance of words, the characters find
a sense of refuge to remember individual and shared experiences through both
concrete and abstract sites of memory, which/as I will demonstrate in this essay.

To begin with, the film is the material through which we are invited to remember
the hardships of the Holocaust. As Death narrates the story of Liesel Meminger, a girl
who is adopted by a German couple in 1938, The Book Thief shows the dreadful
sufferings of the victims of Nazi persecution. On the one hand, she and her friends,
Rudy Steiner and Max Vandenburg, represent innocence and the despair many young
Germans and Jews might have felt during this time. On the other, Liesel’s foster
parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann, can be symbolically associated with survival and
hope after Hans returns alive from war on two occasions. Hence, the film becomes a
site of refuge where “memories are crystalized and transmitted from one generation to
the next” (Nora 19). Besides, the film’s functional aspect becomes apparent when, in
sharing these memories with new generations, it preserves “an incommunicable
experience that would disappear along with those who shared it” (23). In this sense,
The Book Thief is considered a lieu de mémoire as it is the object of memory that holds
and transmits the victims’ stories, which signify their fear, loss, hopelessness and death
during the Holocaust.

One of the most important concrete sites of memory that the plot includes is
Liesel’s first book. While Liesel is travelling by train with her mother and younger
brother, the boy unexpectedly dies and is buried in a cemetery beside the tracks,
where she finds The Gravediggers Handbook. The manual calls her attention
immediately even though she does not yet know how to read, but she still decides to
UNCo- Facultad de Lenguas
Literature in English III 2022
Mid-Term Exam 1 (Revised version)
Rocío B. Pacheco

keep it. As the film progresses, Liesel becomes strongly attached to the book since it
reminds her of her brother. Besides, inside it is where she treasures his photograph.
The book essentially becomes a portable lieu de mémoire for Liesel, a sacred archive
through which the memories of her past life and her lost family are materialized. It is
also heavily charged with symbolism since its title, its context of appearance and
Liesel’s emotional state when she finds it signify loss, death and the opportunity of a
new life. Because of this, the site shows a dual functionality as it not only allows Liesel
to preserve her past but also to understand her present situation. This is, apart from
keeping her memories alive, the book further enables her to evolve as a person as she
begins sharing quality time with her new foster father, who patiently teaches her how to
read it. Thus, The Gravediggers Handbook can be considered one of the first powerful
lieux that the story includes, which carries a fundamentally symbolic meaning for Liesel
as it conserves her past and accompanies her present.

Another significant concrete lieu is Max’s book, which he carries when he

surprisingly appears at the Hubermanns’ door seeking shelter. In spite of the film not
explicitly showing Max’s reasons to keep a copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf, it can be
interpreted that carrying Hitler’s memoirs would helps him look less suspicious and
deceive the Nazi while he escapes persecution. Additionally, the title may apply to
Max’s experience since it may reminds him of his mother, who he hurriedly abandons
to hide. In this sense, Max seems to be emotionally and physically attached to this
book because it relates to and can materialize his own struggle with Nazi oppression.
Furthermore, the symbolic and functional dimensions of this lieu are strengthened by
the paradox of a young Jew clinging onto Hitler to survive and to remember. Nora
explains that (dominated) symbolic sites “are places of refuge, sanctuaries of
spontaneous devotion and silent pilgrimage, where one finds the living heart of
memory” (23). Therefore, for Max, Hitler’s book becomes a refuge both physically and
symbolically.

This particular site undergoes a substantial change in the film, which shows the
transformative power that lieux de mémoire hold. As Max begins to spend more time
with Liesel, he encourages her to read and use words in more meaningful, evocative
ways to cope with their present situation. Indeed, it is Liesel’s reading and storytelling
that Max praises and thanks her for after he survives his terrible illness. So, to express
his gratitude, he paints Hitler’s book pages white and gives it to Liesel as a Christmas
gift. With this gesture, Max re-signifies this lieu so that Liesel, who belongs to a new
UNCo- Facultad de Lenguas
Literature in English III 2022
Mid-Term Exam 1 (Revised version)
Rocío B. Pacheco

generation, can materialize and transmit her memories through significant writing.
“Words are life”, he says to her, inspiring the young girl to write about her story. To this
extent, the film highlights the dynamic force of sites of memory and “their capacity for
metamorphosis, an endless recycling of their meaning and an unpredictable
proliferation of their ramifications” (19) through Max’s book.

Finally, considering the film’s central theme of Liesel’s meaningful use of words,
an abstract lieu can be identified in her descriptive language. After Max has spent
some time with Liesel in her bedroom, the Hubermanns decide he should stay in their
basement so that he is safer. However, in there, he becomes more isolated from the
outside world. For this reason, he insists that Liesel describes the weather meticulously
so he can picture it in his mind. Her detailed depictions become an important place of
remembrance for Max, one brief moment when he can enjoy simple, every day things
he is unable to at this moment. The materiality of this site of memory takes form in
Liesel’s vivid use of words: “a pale day”, “everything is stuck behind the cloud” and “the
sun looks like an oyster” are the phrases she utilizes to help Max picture a landscape in
his mind. With this clear function, using expressive language becomes significantly
symbolic for Max as he can momentarily recover what he is deprived of by the Nazi. In
this sense, Liesel provides Max with an abstract site of memory which she makes
available through evocative expressions for him to remember his life in the outside
world and endure his present.

Taking into account Nora’s contributions to Memory Studies, sites of memory are
seen as the result of the interaction between history and memory. Lieux de mémoire
invite us to remember horrid experiences shared by a particular community and take
any means of representation to crystalize and transmit their memories. They do so by
carrying three dimensions which coexist to represent a variety of meanings through
one singular concrete or abstract form. The Book Thief is hence considered a lieu de
mémoire since it calls for remembrance and commemoration of Holocaust victims’ lives
and the communal traumatic experiences during this time. Furthermore, the film depicts
a variety of objects of memory, which include both concrete and abstract materials.
Concrete sites like Liesel’s first book and Max’s gift show that strong personal
memories can be attached to paradoxical items to be re-interpreted by one’s own
experience. On the other hand, abstract lieux such as Liesel’s expressive use of
language can also become a powerful force to remember and survive. To this extent,
the film embodies the hardships of the Jewish community during the Holocaust; and it
UNCo- Facultad de Lenguas
Literature in English III 2022
Mid-Term Exam 1 (Revised version)
Rocío B. Pacheco

does so through its characters’ symbolic, material and functional relationship with
various lieux de mémoire.

Works Cited

Nora, Pierre. “Between Memory and History: Les Lieux de Mémoire.” Representations,
vol. 26, 1989, pp. 7-24. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2928520
Percival, Brian. The Book Thief. 2013.

Content (60%): 55%

Coherence and cohesion (30%): 25%

Register and citation (10%): 10%

Final mark: 90% 9 (nine)