"Where Are We Going?" with T4 Postmemory: Creative Writing as Vicarious Witnessing

An estimated 300,000 individuals with disabilities were murdered between 1939-1945 by the Nazi government via the clandestine T4 program. This essay first explains the historical context of the T4 program. Then, guided by Marianne Hirsch’s concept of postmemory and the notion of “vicarious witnessing” developed by Froma Zeitlin and expanded by Susanne Knittel, it lays out the strengths of using creative writing in T4 memory mediation. I explore this in part through the personal example of my accompanying poem “Smoke & Ash”, speaking to the creative writing process, my incentive, and the poetic interventions undertaken.