Using and Abusing the Holocaust
1st Edition
Published on 21. June 2006
192 pages
978-0-253-02351-3 (ISBN)
Description
"Langer, by the force of scholarship and literary precision rather than dogmatic affirmation and pathos, is one of the few writers, with the exception of significant poets and novelists, who unsettles both our customary language and conceptual instruments. His book is a moral as well as an intellectual act of a very high order." -Geoffrey Hartman, author of The Longest Shadow
In this new volume, Langer-one of the most distinguished scholars writing on Holocaust literature and representation-assesses various literary efforts to establish a place in modern consciousness for the ordeal of those victimized by Nazi Germany's crimes against humanity. Essays discuss the film Life Is Beautiful, the uncritical acclaim of Fragments, the fake memoir by Benjamin Wilkomirski, reasons for the exaggerated importance still given to Anne Frank's Diary, and a recent cycle of paintings on the Old Testament by Holocaust artist Samuel Bak.
In this new volume, Langer-one of the most distinguished scholars writing on Holocaust literature and representation-assesses various literary efforts to establish a place in modern consciousness for the ordeal of those victimized by Nazi Germany's crimes against humanity. Essays discuss the film Life Is Beautiful, the uncritical acclaim of Fragments, the fake memoir by Benjamin Wilkomirski, reasons for the exaggerated importance still given to Anne Frank's Diary, and a recent cycle of paintings on the Old Testament by Holocaust artist Samuel Bak.
Reviews / Votes
. . . Lawrence L. Langer provides a stimulating and thoughtful analysis of intellectual and personal responses to the Holocaust in literature, film, and art. . . . taken together, the essays present a coherent critique of the ways in which writers, artists, filmmakers, and the members of the broader public use, and at times misuse, the Holocaust. Langer is a perceptive guide to many of the important issues in the burgeoning literature on memory and the Holocaust, and his fluid writing makes this collection a pleasure to read.(Journal of Genocide Research) Recommended. Large graduate and research collections.
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Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Bloomington, IN
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Reflowable
Illustrations
14 color photos
File size
0,41 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-253-02351-3 (9780253023513)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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Additional editions
Lawrence L. Langer
Using and Abusing the Holocaust
Book
06/2006
Indiana University Press
€28.46
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Person
Lawrence L. Langer is Professor of English Emeritus at Simmons College, Boston. Among his numerous books are Holocaust Testimonies: The Ruins of Memory, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award; Preempting the Holocaust; and The Game Continues: Chess in the Art of Samuel Bak (IUP, 1999). He lives in West Newton, Massachusetts.
Content
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. The Pursuit of Death in Holocaust Narrative
2. Anne Frank Revisited
3. Life Is Not Beautiful
4. Fragments of Memory: A Myth of Past Time
5. Wounded Families in Holocaust Discourse
6. Memory and Justice after the Holocaust and Apartheid
7. Witnessing Atrocity: The Testimonial Evidence
8. Moralizing and Demoralizing the Holocaust
9. Representing the Holocaust
10. The Book of Genesis in the Art of Samuel Bak
Notes
Index
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. The Pursuit of Death in Holocaust Narrative
2. Anne Frank Revisited
3. Life Is Not Beautiful
4. Fragments of Memory: A Myth of Past Time
5. Wounded Families in Holocaust Discourse
6. Memory and Justice after the Holocaust and Apartheid
7. Witnessing Atrocity: The Testimonial Evidence
8. Moralizing and Demoralizing the Holocaust
9. Representing the Holocaust
10. The Book of Genesis in the Art of Samuel Bak
Notes
Index
