Spring 2017 JS Courses, Part 3: Holocaust History and Memory

Go beyond "Denial"  (the movie): 

Holocaust History and Memory

Instructor: Rachel Kranson

JS 1252/HIST 1769/RELGST 1252

TTh 2:30-3:45  Gen-Ed: Foreign Culture/Reg  OR Historical Change

The Holocaust—that is, the genocide of six million Jews in Nazi-Occupied Europe during World War II—was a critical event of the early twentieth century that continues to resonate today. Our historical survey looks at the Holocaust primarily through the experiences of its Jewish victims, though we discuss some of the other groups, such as the Roma, disabled people, and gay men, who were also targeted and systematically murdered by the Nazis. Additionally, we think about the perpetrators of the Holocaust and the ideologies that led to the genocide, such as racism, nationalism, and anti-Semitism. Finally, we move beyond the history of the Holocaust to think about the ways that this event has been remembered and reconstructed by survivors, nations, institutions, museums, the arts, popular culture, and the media. Looking at how institutions here in Pittsburgh commemorate the Holocaust offers us local, concrete examples of how people continue to grapple with this history.