Moderator: Dr. Stephen Feinstein
Presenters: Mr. Ernst von Alphen
Dr. Charity Scribner
Prof. Ronald Jones
Dr. Marcia Sachs Littell
Dr. Yosefa Loshitzky

Mr. Max Liljefors


Introduction: Dr. Stephen Feinstein:
Dr. Feinstein began by asking how it was possible to portray artistically an event as appalling and of such a vast scale as the Holocaust. He gave an historical overview of different ways in which artists have attempted to interpret and comment on political events, and in particular, the Holocaust. Representations of the Holocaust range through realism to symbolism, abstraction and metaphorical vision. History kills, he said, Art hurts. Dictatorships are intolerant and critical of imaginary art. The problem with democracies is that they do not have educated audiences.

Ernst von Alphen:
Mr. von Alphen raised the issue of why art and literature were comparatively marginalised in the context of Holocaust remembrance, in contrast to the prominence given to historical research, documentaries, etc. He suggested this might be because art is associated with aesthetic pleasure – a response at odds with the emotions aroused by the Holocaust. Art and literature about the Holocaust were therefore inherently controversial. But this should not mean that they were any less valuable or important as a tool in Holocaust education.
From his own experience he thought that conventional (i.e. historical, documentary) methods of teaching the Holocaust ran the risk of alienating young people. This was due mainly to the way in which the subject is often taught, concentrating on stereotypical, unambiguous messages, and presented through the prism of national historical narratives.

Dr. Charity Scribner:
Dr Scribner examined the complex relationship between the responses of the German people to the relatively recent shared experience of life under the socialist system of the GDR, and the collective experience of acknowledging and commemorating the Holocaust as part of the legacy of Nazism. She used as a case study a current conflict in Oranienburg, north of Berlin, where the community is divided over whether to fund a museum of kindergartens (mainly concentrating on the socialist period) or the renovation and enlargement of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp memorial. Dr. Scribner said there was a ‘museum mania’ at present, and that the Holocaust was not exempt from this. She questioned whether this was an appropriate response.

Prof. Ronald Jones:
Dr. Jones discussed the role of the artist in social/political reform. He argued that artists today are not expected to contribute to or participate in political reform. If artists wish to participate in the social/political debate, they need to think beyond existing parameters, which necessitates radicalism. This is partly because the dynamics between those in power and artists are mutually reinforcing. Only by reformulating, through radicalism, the relationship between artists and those in power in society, can we escape any pre- determined identity imposed on art by the observer. Representation of the Holocaust is a prime case study in this debate.