Holocaust Memory: Contemporary Aspects & International Trends

Catalog description

This course examines Holocaust memory as a dynamic and contested field at the intersection of history, culture, and education. It traces the evolution of Holocaust research from 1945 to the present and maps how political, cultural, and generational shifts reshape remembrance in Israel and abroad. Students will explore core theories of memory and historiography. These include Israeli debates ranging from early state commemoration rituals and the Eichmann trial to Haredi models of Holocaust remembrance, and museum pedagogy through case studies at the Ghetto Fighters’ House, alongside international encounters with the House of the Wannsee Conference (Berlin) and Brama Grodzka - Theatre NN (Lublin). Additional topics include youth educational journeys to Poland, monumental art and memorials, representations of the Holocaust in film and popular culture, and the role of testimony in Holocaust research and education. The course culminates with current global challenges such as rising antisemitism, the passing of witnesses, political uses of memory, and the dilemmas of digitization/AI/ immersive media - equipping students with analytical and ethical tools to assess how Holocaust memory is constructed, transmitted, and debated today.