scholarly journals On the testimony of the Holocaust in literature and ethics

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 181-189
Author(s):  
Stefan Konstańczak

Abstract In the article, the author analyses the impact of the tragic experiences during the Holocaust on contemporary ethics and literature. Such considerations coincide with yet another anniversary – the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, celebrated globally as Holocaust Memorial Day. The article also considers the reasons why testimonies from Holocaust survivors have not had an adequate impact on society. The author argues that trivialisation of the Holocaust tragedy occurred in modern science and it is related to the fact that traditional ethics has not been able to convincingly explain why the Holocaust occurred in the most civilised nations. Thus, Holocaust testimonies should be constantly popularised in society for the good of all mankind. Literature seems to be the best form of mass media for this task and it is also a recorder of human emotions. According to the author, it is essential that humanity is protected this way against the possibility of a similar tragedy occurring in the future.

Author(s):  
Jonathan Webber ◽  
Chris Schwarz ◽  
Jason Francisco

This chapter talks about the people who are creating and maintaining projects that memorialize both the Jewish life that existed in Polish Galicia for centuries and the enormity of the Holocaust during which it was destroyed. It discloses the public acknowledgment of the Jewish heritage that has been ongoing since Poland regained its democratic freedom in 1989, which led to the revival of Jewish life. It also describes the main Holocaust memorial in Kraków, which is comprised of symbolic abandoned chairs scattered through an entire city to highlight the Jewish absence. The chapter mentions non-Jewish Poles who have become aware of the past in Poland that included Jews and Jewish culture. It details post-Holocaust Poland in the 1970s that was severely restricted and in danger of facing extinction as 90 percent of Holocaust survivors had emigrated.


Author(s):  
George R. Mastroianni

Chapter 4 focuses on the considerable psychological literature devoted to the question of the role played by psychopathology in the Nazi movement and the Holocaust. Both the Nazi leaders and the German population as a whole were thought by some to exhibit signs of psychopathology. The dominant paradigm in psychology before, during, and shortly after World War II was psychoanalytic, and Freudian analyses were common. The notion that psychopathology played a significant role in either Nazism or the Holocaust has largely been abandoned. The psychological consequences of the horrific experiences to which many Holocaust survivors were subjected led to the identification of a disorder called by some “concentration camp syndrome.” Our modern-day understanding of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) owes a considerable debt to the legacy of Holocaust survivors.


2017 ◽  
pp. 260-274
Author(s):  
Judith Lyon-Caen

Michał Borwicz was a Polish poet, prose writer, and a publicist of Jewish origins. During the Nazi occupation he was resettled to the Lvov getto, and in the years 1942–1943 he was imprisoned in the Janowska concentration camp. He managed to escape and next he was active in the resistance movement. After the war as a director of the Jewish Historical Commission in Kraków he tried to collect and publish testimonies of the Holocaust survivors. In 1947 he decided to emigrate to France. In 1953 Borwicz defended his doctoral dissertation at the Sorbonne. The dissertation was published the same year. It presents writings of people “condemned to death” under Nazi occupation, and is considered a pioneer study of literature and writing practices in the camps and ghettos. Unfortunately the singularity of the author and the strength of his work are still underestimated.


Author(s):  
Ben Mollov ◽  
Chaim Lavie

This chapter will focus on two main approaches connected to seeking to advance both Jewish-Arab relations in the State of Israel and between Israelis and Palestinians with emphasis on inter-religious and intercultural dimensions for dialogue and peace education. Based on both qualitative and quantitative assessments, these approaches focus: (1) on the impact of intercultural dialogue encounters between Israelis and Palestinians, and Arabs and Jews within Israel in a number of venues for mutual perception change; and (2) the possibilities of joint Jewish-Arab study of the European Jewish Holocaust and a visit to Holocaust memorial sites in Poland as a vehicle for dialogue and constructive relationship building. Based on both theory and case studies it will be contended that such inter-religious/intercultural encounters along with a focus on the discourse of the Holocaust, can if properly framed help to promote more positive Jewish-Arab mutual perceptions and advance efforts for peace education.


2020 ◽  
pp. 78-101
Author(s):  
Ben Mollov ◽  
Chaim Lavie

This chapter will focus on two main approaches connected to seeking to advance both Jewish-Arab relations in the State of Israel and between Israelis and Palestinians with emphasis on inter-religious and intercultural dimensions for dialogue and peace education. Based on both qualitative and quantitative assessments, these approaches focus: (1) on the impact of intercultural dialogue encounters between Israelis and Palestinians, and Arabs and Jews within Israel in a number of venues for mutual perception change; and (2) the possibilities of joint Jewish-Arab study of the European Jewish Holocaust and a visit to Holocaust memorial sites in Poland as a vehicle for dialogue and constructive relationship building. Based on both theory and case studies it will be contended that such inter-religious/intercultural encounters along with a focus on the discourse of the Holocaust, can if properly framed help to promote more positive Jewish-Arab mutual perceptions and advance efforts for peace education.


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