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The forgotten Holocaust? : post-war representations of the non-Jewish victims in the United States of America and the United Kingdom

The forgotten Holocaust? : post-war representations of the non-Jewish victims in the United States of America and the United Kingdom
The forgotten Holocaust? : post-war representations of the non-Jewish victims in the United States of America and the United Kingdom

This thesis argues that the non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust are regarded as the ‘other’ victims, on the periphery of a contemporary Holocaust narrative that is essentially Jewish. This is achieved by comparing how, and the extent to which, the non-Jewish victim groups are portrayed in two genres of post-1945 representation – the museum installation and the memorial – in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The study draws upon a variety of primary and secondary sources, including archival material, site observations, oral interviews and newspaper reports.

Through the case studies of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Holocaust Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum and six Holocaust memorials in America and Britain, this thesis seeks to establish whether non-Jewish victims are represented differentially in the two genres and in each country. It examines how sense of place, in two nations removed geographically and experientially from the events of the Holocaust, has impacted upon the representation of the Holocaust in Britain and America and the effect that this has had on the memorialisation of the non-Jewish victim groups. This study questions whether the role of ethnic politics in each country has influenced the representation of the non-Jewish victims. It discusses the debates within each mode of representation regarding the unique and universal interpretations of the Holocaust and the resulting hierarchy of victims. It shows that one non-Jewish victim group in particular achieves more prominence than the others and suggests why this might be the case.

University of Southampton
Starmes, Hazel Fiona
fb3a64b9-d7c7-4c13-b068-a32d381a8beb
Starmes, Hazel Fiona
fb3a64b9-d7c7-4c13-b068-a32d381a8beb

Starmes, Hazel Fiona (2007) The forgotten Holocaust? : post-war representations of the non-Jewish victims in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

This thesis argues that the non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust are regarded as the ‘other’ victims, on the periphery of a contemporary Holocaust narrative that is essentially Jewish. This is achieved by comparing how, and the extent to which, the non-Jewish victim groups are portrayed in two genres of post-1945 representation – the museum installation and the memorial – in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The study draws upon a variety of primary and secondary sources, including archival material, site observations, oral interviews and newspaper reports.

Through the case studies of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Holocaust Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum and six Holocaust memorials in America and Britain, this thesis seeks to establish whether non-Jewish victims are represented differentially in the two genres and in each country. It examines how sense of place, in two nations removed geographically and experientially from the events of the Holocaust, has impacted upon the representation of the Holocaust in Britain and America and the effect that this has had on the memorialisation of the non-Jewish victim groups. This study questions whether the role of ethnic politics in each country has influenced the representation of the non-Jewish victims. It discusses the debates within each mode of representation regarding the unique and universal interpretations of the Holocaust and the resulting hierarchy of victims. It shows that one non-Jewish victim group in particular achieves more prominence than the others and suggests why this might be the case.

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Published date: 2007

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 466310
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/466310
PURE UUID: e4204259-b792-4a28-9ee8-ccf16154c035

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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 05:10
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 20:37

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Author: Hazel Fiona Starmes

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