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'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria

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the Jews in that the recitation <strong>of</strong> the murder in the fairy tale takes place in tandem with<br />

the appearance <strong>of</strong> industrial ovens in the film narrative. As E. Ann Kaplan asserts, “No<br />

better than robbers, the Nazis dismember citizens‟ bodies as in the fairy-tale” (299). The<br />

robbers‟ theft <strong>of</strong> the maiden‟s ring recalls the National Socialists‟ expropriation and<br />

plundering <strong>of</strong> Jewish property and bodies (Davies 126). Moreover, as Lene continues her<br />

narration <strong>of</strong> the tale, the viewer sees her and Anna traveling on a freight train. The image<br />

<strong>of</strong> the train and railway recalls the Holocaust as the Nazis used railways to deport Jewish<br />

prisoners to concentration camps. Thus, Sanders-Brahms skillfully combines plot details<br />

<strong>of</strong> “Der Räuberbräutigam” with images <strong>of</strong> her film narrative to figuratively make<br />

reference to the Nazi genocide <strong>of</strong> the Jews and other victims, showing Germany itself to<br />

be a “Mörderhaus” in which the shameful secret <strong>of</strong> mass murder is hidden.<br />

95

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