The Politics of Memory in Central Europe

Instructor: Pavel Barša

Course Description

National commemorations of extreme events, such as wars or massacres, are not about pious recollections of past tragedies but rather about “who we are”. They are, that is, part of the politics of national identity. The course applies this thesis to the memory of the Holocaust in East-Central Europe. With the help of a recent collection of essays it offers a comparative survey of selected cases of this memory in our region (and occasionally beyond it). The goal is to grasp both peculiarities of each case and their commonalities.

Requirements

Participation in class discussions, one oral presentation of readings and final written examination.

Program

1) Introduction

2) Michal Frankl, The Sheep of Lidice: The Holocaust and the Construction of Czech National History, in J.P.Himka and J. B. Michlic (eds.), Bringing the Dark Past to Light. The Reception of the Holocaust in Postcommunist Europe, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and Lincoln, 2013, pp. 166-194.

3) Nina Paulovičová, “The ‘Unmasterable Past’? The Reception of the Holocaust in Postcommunist Slovakia”, ibid., pp. 549-570.

4) Nina Paulovičová, “the ‘Unmasterable …”, ibid., pp. 570-590.

5) Paul Hanebrink, “The Politics of Holocaust Memory in Postcommunist Hungary”, ibid., pp. 261-291.

6) J. B. Michlic, M. Melchior, “The Memory of the Holocaust in Post-1989 Poland: Renewal – Its Accomplishments and Its Powerlessness”, ibid., pp. 403-426.

7) J.B. Michlic, M. Melchior, “The Memory …”, ibid., pp. 426-450.

8) Jovan Byford, “Between Marginalization and Instrumentalization: Holocaust Memory in Serbia since the Late 1980s”, ibid., pp. 516-548.

9) Mihai Chioveanu, “Public Perceptions of the Holocaust in Postcommunist Romania”, ibid., pp. 451-486.

10) John-Paul Himka, “The Reception of the Holocaust in Postcommunist Ukraine”, pp. 626-643.

11) John-Paul Himka, “The Reception of the Holocaust in Postcommunist Ukraine”, pp. 643-662.

12) Klas-Göran Karlsson, “The Reception fo the Holocaust in Russia: Silence, Conspiracy, and Glimpses of Light”, pp. 487-515.

13) Omer Bartov, “Conclusion”, ibid., 663-694.

14) Recapitulation