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The Holocaust: Memoirs and Histories This course explores the complex history of the Holocaust through both memoirs and histories. Memoirs offer portraits of events as they were remembered and recorded by a particular individual. They are shaped by many factors, including the age and experience of the writer, the length of time that has passed between experience and writing, the influence of other life experiences upon how the writer interprets his or her history. For example, a decision that may have seemed mundane at the time—to volunteer for labor or not; to go in one line and not another—may later be understood to have been decisive in that individual’s survival. Each author of a memoir has chosen to record certain experiences and omit others. Histories take a different approach, placing individual experiences within a broader context, and seeking to understand the multi-faceted, complex and inter-connected causes of particular events and actions. Of course, historians also make choices about what evidence to include and what to exclude. This course investigates the Holocaust through memoirs and interpretive historical works and seeks to build an understanding of historical methodology, diverse forms of historical evidence, and current issues and debates within the field of Holocaust history, as well as developing an understanding of the Holocaust as seen through the eyes of those who were directly affected by it. |
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