Holocaust Representations in History: An Introduction

Description

How the Holocaust is depicted and memorialized is key to our understanding of the atrocity and its impact. Through 18 case studies dating from the immediate aftermath of the genocide to the present day, Holocaust Representations in History explores this in detail. Daniel H. Magilow and Lisa Silverman examine film, drama, literature, photography, visual art, television, graphic novels, memorials, and video games as they discuss the major themes and issues that underpin the chronicling of the Holocaust. Each chapter is focused on a critical debate or question in Holocaust history; the case studies range from well-known, commercially successful works about the Holocaust to controversial examples which have drawn accusations of profaning the memory of the genocide. This 2nd edition adds to the mosaic of representation, with new chapters analysing poetry in the wake of the Holocaust and video games from the here and now. This unique volume provides an unmatched survey of key and controversial Holocaust representations and is of vital importance to anyone wanting to understand the subject and its complexities.

Daniel H. Magilow is Professor of German at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA. He is the author of The Photography of Crisis: The Photo Essays of Weimar Germany (2012) and editor of It Will Yet Be Heard: A Polish Rabbi's Witness of the Shoah and Survival (2019). Lisa Silverman is Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA. She is the author of Becoming Austrians: Jews and Culture between the World Wars (2012) and co-editor of Making Place: Space and Embodiment in the City (2014).

In engaging prose, Magilow and Silverman show that influential works on the Holocaust were shaped by the historical moment in which they were produced. Their lesson is an important one: what we know of this horrific event is mediated by present concerns and so evolves with time and, once taken to heart, you'll never read these canonical and controversial texts the same way. * Lisa Leff, Professor of History, American University, USA * This book is an excellent interdisciplinary statement on the narrative challenges of the Holocaust to art, film, literature and memorialisation. A must-use text of close readings for teachers and students alike. * Simone Gigliotti, Senior Lecturer in Holocaust Studies, Royal Holloway University of London, UK *