Jewish “Culpability”: Redefining Heroism in the Context of the Holocaust

Pettitt, Joanne Louise (2016). Jewish “Culpability”: Redefining Heroism in the Context of the Holocaust. Holocaust Studies: A Journal of History and Culture, 22(4), pp. 357-371. Taylor & Francis 10.1080/17504902.2016.1191166

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This article considers representations of Jewish “culpability” during the Holocaust. Despite the undoubtedly contentious nature of the topic, I take as my starting point that the actions of the victims of the genocide were not all beyond moral reproach. This is not to confuse cause and effect but, rather, to acknowledge the nuances of the atrocity. Analyzing the representation of these ambiguities in a wide range of literature and film, I argue that conceptions of heroism are insufficient in this context because, in their insistence on action over complicity, they inadvertently condemn millions of victims who were violently coerced into submission. Instead, I suggest that the focus of fictional accounts should be on complexity, not heroism.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies > Institute of English Languages and Literatures 06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies > Institute of English Languages and Literatures > Old English
UniBE Contributor:	Pettitt, Joanne Louise
Subjects:	800 Literature, rhetoric & criticism > 820 English & Old English literatures
ISSN:	1750-4902
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Language:	English
Submitter:	Federico Erba
Date Deposited:	12 Jun 2017 12:15
Last Modified:	14 Mar 2024 12:31
Publisher DOI:	10.1080/17504902.2016.1191166
Additional Information:	Online ISSN: 2048-4887
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Holocaust, heroism, Jewish culpability, grey zone, coercion
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/96803