Holocaust Representations in History: An Introduction(Perspectives on the Holocaust)

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.

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Preface to the 2nd Edition Introduction Part I - The 1940s and 1950s 1. The Boy in the Warsaw Ghetto (Photograph, 1943): What do Iconic Photographs tell us about the Holocaust? 2. Nazi Concentration Camps (Documentary Film, 1945): Can the Holocaust be Adequately Represented on Film? 3. Death Fugue (Poem, 1948): What is the Relationship between the Holocaust and Language? 4. Yizker-bukh Chelm (Memorial Book, 1954): How did the Jews Talk about the Holocaust in its Aftermath? 5. The Diary of Anne Frank (Drama, 1955): What is the Americanization of the Holocaust? 6. Night (Memoir, 1958): What Does it Mean to be a Holocaust Survivor? Part II - The 1960s and 1970s 7. Eichmann in Jerusalem (Magazine Reports, 1963): What Roles do Trials Play in how we Remember the Holocaust? 8. The Deputy (Drama, 1963): What Role did the Catholic Church play in the Holocaust? 9. The Night Porter (Film, 1974): What is the Ongoing Appeal of the Holocaust and Nazism? 10. Holocaust: The Story of the Family Weiss (Television, 1978): Do Representations for Mass Audiences Trivialise the Holocaust? Part III - The 1980s and 1990s 11. Shoah (Film, 1985): What is the Role of Witness Testimony in Representations of the Holocaust? 12. Maus (Graphic Novel, 1991): How is the Memory of the Holocaust Transmitted across Generations? 13. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Museum, 1993): How do Countries outside Germany Commemorate the Holocaust? 14. Fragments: Memories of a Wartime Childhood (Fiction, 1996): What Does it Mean to Lie about the Holocaust? Part IV - The 2000s until Today 15. The Children's Holocaust Memorial and Paper Clip Project (Memorial, 2001): How is the Holocaust Used to Teach about Diversity? 16. Mirroring Evil: Nazi Imagery / Recent Art (Visual Art, 2002): Has the Memory of the Holocaust become too Commercial? 17. Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Memorial, 2005): Is there an End to Holocaust Memory? 18. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Video Game, 2017): What role do Games play in Holocaust Representation? Notes Further Reading Index

About the Author :
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).

Review :
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. 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.