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The Figure of the Child in Holocaust Representations

Author:
Bubar, Mallory
Published:
[University Park, Pennsylvania] : Pennsylvania State University, 2020.
Physical Description:
1 electronic document
Additional Creators:
Doran, Sabine
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Open Access.
Summary:
My dissertation titled The Figure of the Child in Holocaust Representations focuses on the child as a narrative construct and its function in Holocaust literature, film, and museums. Before my work, the figure of the child in the context of Holocaust representation had not been adequately researched at the academic level, despite its prominent presence in Holocaust representation since the immediate post-war years, starting with the popularity of Anne Franks diary. In order to adequately observe the child figure phenomenon, I investigate each medium of Holocaust representation and conduct close readings of popular or well-known representations using Hayden Whites concept of the middle voice and Alison Landsbergs work in memory studies in order to illustrate how the childs constructed innocence can impact a work. The first chapter focuses on literary representations of the child and close readings ranging from The Diary of Anne Frank to W.G. Sebalds Austerlitz. I examine the particular narrative techniques the works use via the child figure to negotiate the impossibilities of Holocaust representation. The second chapter discusses filmic representations of children with an emphasis on film post Schindlers List. I observe the unique role that films with an emphasis on the child as storyteller play in the discussion of the Holocaust and how a childs viewpoint can provide a new visual manner of representing the Holocaust in film. The third chapter focuses on museums representations of the Holocaust child figure, centering on USHMMS Daniels Story and its connection to the larger museum spaces dedicated to the atrocities. I evaluate the positioning of the child figure within institutional walls and the educational reach a childs perspective can have on a visitor. In my conclusion, I examine the digital shift and the future impact of digital tools on these institutions.The works I discuss range from the historical to the fictional to show the child figures broad impact on Holocaust representation. My research provides an evaluation of the childs role across all three mediums of representation and how its perceived innocence can interrupt a standard narrative. By investigating the representations of children in Holocaust narratives, I provide a new approach and way of reading the canonical material as well as new applications of archival material.
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Dissertation Note:
Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University 2020.
Reproduction Note:
Microfilm (positive). 1 reel ; 35 mm. (University Microfilms 28767296)
Technical Details:
The full text of the dissertation is available as an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file ; Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view the file.
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