Oneiric Witnessing: Dreamscapes of War

Wartime dream diaries serve as a testimonial practice that makes visible experiences hidden from public discourse and dominant narratives of war. Drawing on post-2022 Ukrainian dream diaries and the theories of Charlotte Beradt, Georges Didi-Huberman, and Wilfred Bion, the article argues that sharing dreams is not merely a constative speech act but a form of thinking about and acting on history. This ethical–political perspective frames dream sharing as a relational act of self-disclosure, not just a relay of content. To read records of war dreams is to be called upon to receive and offer hospitality to a dream.

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Abstract

Are wartime dream diaries a testimony to violence and its impact on society and culture? Do dreams shape and respond to history and the collective remembrance of war? This article argues that wartime dream collections constitute a testimonial practice that brings visibility to experiences hidden from the public domain and missing from dominant discourses on war. Connecting post-2022 Ukrainian dream diaries and theoretical contributions to cultural dream analysis by Charlotte Beradt, Georges Didi-Huberman, and Wilfred Bion, I argue that recognizing dream sharing as witnessing raises ethical and political questions because it is not a constative speech act, but a form of thinking about and action on history. Within this ethical–political perspective, sharing dreams is never merely about relaying contents to the reader but a relational act of self-disclosure. I conclude that to read records of war dreams is inseparable from being called upon to receive and offer hospitality to a dream.