Re-presenting histories

This article rereads Alexander Kluge and Peter Schamoni’s short film Brutality in Stone (1961) light of more contemporary scholarly interest the architectural ruin. leads to an analysis that challenges, or recasts cinematic assumptions about past. I begin my through attention Stone’s radical strategies montage, marriage archival stills newly-shot documentary moving images, merging real imagined, past present, sound image. These formal are observed lens theories ruin, Kluge’s own writings on cinema history, references historiography Nazi architecture, ruination architecture. then reveal as a type counter-memory, promoting critical awareness of, rather than espousing ideologically motivated enthusiasm for histories memories they have been represented monuments, historical narratives. Specifically, reconsideration contributes rethinking relationship ongoing lessons German history its representation moment. Keeping alive has never urgent we move into moment when becoming ever dimmer.