Between Love and Coercion: Queer Desire, Sexual Barter and the Holocaust

Abstract

Abstract In analysing a forced relationship between two women, a German guard and a Jewish Czech prisoner in a Hamburg concentration camp, this article uses queer Holocaust history to explore sexual barter, sexual violence, victim agency, and the rules of prisoner society. It also makes a plea for a departure from normativity in thinking about the Holocaust and for the inclusion of marginalized voices.