Popular Culture and the Shaping of Holocaust Memory in America. By Alan Mintz. University of Washington Press, 2001. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. xiii, 186. $29.95.
How does American culture shape the Holocaust memories? Why do we feel as Americans to show interest in the Holocaust? The answers are not simple ones. As Americans, we take pride in our country, as well as, in other countries. During the Second World War, many people lost their lives, as well as, their strengths and weaknesses. The American culture is no stranger, when it comes to suffering.
As a nation, the American public is reminded by the war, as the horrific Holocaust memories were shown on televisions across the nation. As the war ended, media coverage became more intense. The American public saw the images of the Holocaust and the long suffering Jews. Americans not only became concerned, but also interested. Many American families still had family members in Europe, and felt empty after losing a family member who had suffered.
Many Americans took a similar approach to dealing with the Holocaust. Some became more fascinated, while others looked at Jews, including American Jews, as individuals. Jews were now being accepted as Americans and were now able to attend certain colleges and universities, as before the war they were not.
The Jewish faith and beliefs also became a staple in American life. The Jewish people were able to create larger synagogues, as well as, have their faith in the main group of religion in America, among Protestant and Catholic faiths. The Jews were finally being accepted because of the fatal and horrible events of the war.
As a nation, the Americans showed not only sympathy, but also compassion. Americans built numerous educational museums for the Holocaust memories, and started to educate the young Americans about the suffering of the Jewish community.
As a nation, still today Americans look to Hollywood for the story telling, many Americans rather watch a film then reading literature about World War II and the Holocaust. Many stories about the Holocaust were turned into films and some into theater plays, such as the Diary of Anne Frank. Many of the films were turned into multi-million dollar films, such as Schindler's List, which also won an Oscar Award for Best Picture, in 1993.
The fact that America derives this significant moral benefit from the Holocaust does not mean that it proposes to give nothing back in return.
There was a time of history where the entire world was watching an unthinkable tragedy take place, the Holocaust. The film industry exploded with the creation of Holocaust films. From Germany to America, before, during, and after WWII, films portraying the Holocaust took center stage. Interestingly enough, America was not directly effected by the events taking place in Europe. There are accusations towards America asking why did we not help? "How is it possible for a influential country to just sit back and watch a genocide take place?"(CITE) How is it possible for a country who was not directly affected by the Holocaust create many influential films depicted the Holocaust, such as The Diary of Anne Frank (1959), Schindler 's List (1993), and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)? This is where the Americanization of the Holocaust begins. These films are recognized in Europe as being highly influential as well. This welcomes the question as to whether Americanization in film leads to misinterpretations of the true historical account of the Holocaust. Film professor, Ilan Avisar
The Holocaust impacted Americans in a number of ways. On one note the Holocaust instilled a number of fears into American’s minds. One being that Americans feared Nazis infiltration (American and the Holocaust: Exploring US Responses) The Nazis and their ability to invade was unprecedented during this time period and their main targets were Jews and non- Aryans thus, Americans feared that by raising immigration quotas and allowing an abundant amount of Jewish refugees into America it would set off Nazis and they would attack America at its heart. Along with fears of infiltration there were financial fears that Americans were facing which lead to the govt. being against reforming the quotas, due to the depression that Americans were dealing with. America’s original solution to settling these fears was the concept of isolationism, so they could focus on domestic issues (Holocaust memorial museum). One of the general issues that arose during the Holocaust was that the subject matter addressed during the Holocaust as far as U.S laws went was an unprecedented event that w...
Dr. Zuroff discussed this by talking about how the Holocaust could possibly be presented in other countries. The specific example he used is saying that what the president of Iran simply got on television and told people that the Holocaust never happened it was all a stunt that was created. Due to the president being a respected figure in society everyone will believe him. Also due to the platform used the country will also believe him. This is an example of the spiral of silence theory. In this theory small people who are not able to get inside the media are neglected. Of course in any country where the Jewish community is not the majority they have the chance to be forgotten or silenced by the media. As a minority group there is many things that a group may experience and it may be something that is extremely important and the rest of the world may need to be made aware of it but, it will never happen because that’s not what the majority opinion is. This theory explain how media shapes the people’s opinion because they have the ability
The Holocaust not only affected the areas where it took place, it affected the entire world. Even though Jewish people were the main victims in the Holocaust, it also left lasting effects on other groups of people. Both the Nazi and Jewish decedents still feel the aftermath of one of the most horrific counts of genocide that the world has ever encountered. The cries of the victims in concentration camps still ring around the globe today, and they are not easily ignored. Although the Holocaust took place during World War Two, the effects that it had on the world are still prominent today.
Reading, Anna. "Young People's Viewing Of Holocaust Films In Different Cultural Contexts." Holocaust And The Moving Image (2005): 210-216. RAMBI. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.
The Holocaust is considered the largest genocide of our entire world, killing more than 600,000,000 Jewish people during the years of 1933-1945. The memories and history that have filled our lives that occurred during the Holocaust are constantly remembered around the world. Many populations today “think” that constant reminders allow for us to become informed and help diminish the hatred for other races still today. These scholars believe that by remembering the Holocaust, you are able to become knowledgeable and learn how to help prevent this from happening again. Since the Holocaust in a sense impacted the entire human race and history of the world, there are traces of the Holocaust all across our culture today. As I continue to remember the victims of this tragic time period I think of all the ways that our world remembers the Holocaust in today’s society. Through spreading the word, works of media and memorials across the world, I am continually reminded of the tragedy that occurred.
We need to remember the Holocaust because of all the Jewish people who died and the people who tried to save them. In the book “Book Thief”, the family risked their lives to help one of their friends who was Jewish. If the Nazis found out about the Jewish person in their basement they would take the whole family to the death camp with the Jewish friend. Also in the “Boys who challenged Hitler”, a group of boys who lived in Denmark, risked their Life’s to save Jewish people by putting them on rafts to float over to Sweden. They did that because Sweden was a free country and the Nazi’s did not have control over them.
The holocaust is a incredibly difficult for some people to discuss with others depending on their extent of connection to the event. It is believed to be the worst genocide known to man by many people. This explains discomfort many people experience when discussing the subject. People debate if the absolutely horrific events of World War II will be forgotten as generations pass. Survivors have many different ways of never forgetting the events that happened to them. Some people feel that it is better to completely wipe these events from memory because they do not want to remember what happened to them, while others want to tell all of society of tragic events hoping to prevent similar events from occurring in the future. Many people debate which method is best to never
In Europe during World War II, the Holocaust killed an extreme amount of people, both Jews and Gypsies, as well as other people, such as homosexuals and people who had other political ideas. The Holocaust also brought a large amount of discrimination. The Holocaust is a memorable event and even today it is remembered for all the bad but also for all the lessons it has taught people. This event will continue to be remembered because it shows how society can be both good and evil if we allow it.
We learn about The Holocaust so history does not repeat itself. Nobody wants to be in a group of people or race or religion that society does not want or like. Everybody is the same in some way, but they are also different; and people should repsect that. Just because they are different does not mean they should be blamed or singled out either. We, as the United States, try to prevent something like segregation, The Hololcaust, or wars from happening again because it is the right thing to do and people want to live their normal life. We learn about The Holocaust so we can learn to treat other people with repsect.
The Holocaust was an extremely horrific period of history. Millions were killed and lost everything, including money, family, and dignity. However, it has taught many lessons. We can study it today to make sure nothing like it ever happens again.
...was a terrible war that nobody wants to ever happen again. It was really important to know the signs of it starting again like a country changing its' law like eliminating goverment postions so somebody has all the power. It is an amazing thing that we learn about the tragic events that took place in Europe. We also learn about the Holocaust because we don't want another world war. It would be tragic if we hand another world war that tore the world up. We also don't need another person doing the same exact thing Hilter did like creating laws discriminating many just because of their race or religon. So the main reason we learn about the Holocaust and all the other tragic event is to know how all the people around the world were effected in some way and if it did happen again it would also effect everybody right now. We also want to make sure it never happens again.
People that survived the Holocaust made it their mission to spread the word about their lives and what they witnessed during that time.Because the Holocaust was so widely known and televised, many people made movies, books and other tributes about the holocaust, which also made it more widely known. Many people would debate about the way it was televised being inappropriate. But at the end of the day the main point of the Holocaust came across to the public.Which was that Hitler try to turn the world against people’s ethnicities at which he did not like.
Horrible things happened in Europe during the time period of WWII, and millions of people died. The Holocaust stands as one of the biggest genocides that has ever happened in human history, so we study it to remember it. Remembering the awful things that happened during the Holocaust, and all of the poor Jews and other undesireables who lost their lives will hopefully insure that something this disgusting, at this magnitude, will never happen again.
When World War 2 broke out in 1939, the United States of America was facing the dilemma of whether or not to intervene in the massacre known as the Holocaust. Some people believe that the United States did all they could to help the victims of the war. Some believe that America did hardly anything. But, there is stronger evidence pointing towards the fact that the United States did not do enough to stop the killing initiated by Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi army.