Language:
English
Year of publication:
2023
Titel der Quelle:
Holocaust Studies
Angaben zur Quelle:
29,4 (2023) 502-519
Keywords:
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Influence
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Political aspects
;
Collective memory
;
World politics
Abstract:
This article analyzes how Holocaust memory serves to consolidate political legitimacy in contemporary Europe. In the aftermath of communism, post-communist states performatively adopted the established Western memory canon while rejecting much of its focus on the uniqueness of Jewish suffering. Instead, they refocused the gaze on the suffering of non-Jewish national majorities. This approach provided cover and protection to Western governments, which have been reluctant to seriously address national mythologies that emphasize resistance and downplay complicity and collaboration in the Holocaust. Holocaust memory became decoupled from the Holocaust and is better understood through the prism of contemporary European politics.
DOI:
10.1080/17504902.2022.2116539
URL:
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