What was the Impact of the Holocaust on Postwar Art and Culture - Essay Example

Lecturer: What Was The Impact of The Holocaust on Postwar Art And Culture? Introduction Holocaust refers to the sustained extermination Jews by the German Nazis during the infamous Second World War (Farlex). This took place between January 30, 1933 and May 8, 1945. During this period, Jews were hunted down and subjected to harsh treatment and persecution that eventually led to the breaking up of many Jews communities in Europe, dispossessions, torture and eventual killing of nearly six million among them. This figure represented two thirds of the total European Jewish population and a third of the world’s total. Causes Germany was forced to sign the humiliating Versailles Treaty, at the end of the First World War, in which the country was forced to cut down on its armed forces, its prewar territory was reduced, and Germans were forced to admit guilt for the war. They were also forced to pay reparations to the allied forces for losses incurred during the war. The country was also forced to adopt a parliamentary governing system, and it is through this system that Adolf Hitler became a Chancellor, or prime minister, in 1932. Soon after, his government started propagating hate campaign against Jews, claiming that they were the source of all German problems and, therefore, needed to be exterminated as a race from the world. This is what led to the Holocaust, a tragedy that peaked during the war and only ended with Germany’s defeat, by the allied forces, in 1945 (AICE). Impact of Holocaust on Art and Culture Holocaust brought untold suffering to millions of Jews in Europe. It was a human catastrophe of great magnitude and which should never be repeated again. Memories of this sad episode in the history of mankind are kept alive through art which is represented in different ways. Visual Representations These include placement of memorial objects in museums like the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Jewish Holocaust and Research Centre, Australia and the Ani Ma'amin Holocaust Museum in Israel. In these museums, Jewish possessions at the time and objects found in the concentration camps where Jews were normally herded for extermination are in display. Pieces of art showcasing the conditions of life in those camps are also in display as is their cultural artifacts at the time (Zelizer 5). Other museums across the world have set aside sections that keep these objects too. Paintings and Pictures Visual representations have also been done through paintings, photography and films. Evidence from the concentration camps indicates that the detainees engaged in the art to express their feelings and sufferings, and to avoid getting bored. Though some of this work was discovered by the Nazis and destroyed claiming it was part of ‘horror propaganda’, and the artists punished severely, however, some of it survived. This includes Josef Nassy’s 200 drawings which he painted while at Bavaria’s Laufen and Tittmoning concentration camps. His pieces of art survived the concentration camps and these help in capturing an eye witness’ account of the dehumanizing nature in which Nazis treated the Jews. ‘No names’ are paintings by Alice Lok Cahana, a Hungarian Holocaust survivor who tells her story as a teenage detainee. Her work is preserved in the Collection of Modern Religious Art gallery, at the Vatican Museum. Some other artists helped in producing paintings of life at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp months after its liberation and these include Mary Kessell, Leslie Cole, and Sargeant Eric Taylor who was one of the camp's liberators. A lot of these paintings have been done over time including those by contemporary artists and are on display in different museums and art galleries across the globe (Zelizer 8). Photography Photography has also been used extensively to preserve memories of the Holocaust. Among these is the more than 10,000 photos taken secretly by Mendel Grossman while at the death camps. Though he died in the same camps; however, the negatives were used to develop photos which were later compiled into the book, ‘With a Camera in the Ghetto’. Films A number of films produced have also managed to illustrate the genesis and misery in the camps, prisons and ghettos. Among these is the much acclaimed Alain Resnais’ film ‘Night and Fog’ which, apart from depicting the sad realities in the camps includes what has been described as a realistic, graphic description of the horror; like the scenes depicting use of Jewish fat to make soap for German Nazis. Other films include The Pianist and Claude Lanzmann's Shoah. Many more films on holocaust continue to be produced to date. Songs and Dances In depicting their suffering, some survivors came up with songs and dances depicting the suffering and hopelessness of being held in captivity with no way to resist and no where to run. Among these is Anna Sokolow’s piece titled ‘Dreams’ and Rami Be’er’s "Aide Memoire". They illustrate the desperation of captivity and the pain of seeing loved ones being taken away to be killed with no means to stop it. These are some of the experiences that captives went through in the concentration camps. Novels Holocaust has influenced literature through stories compiled in novels. Novels include those by authors like William Styron who wrote, ‘Sophie's Choice’, Martin Amis's, ‘Time's Arrow’ and Jane Yolen's ‘The Devil's Arithmetic’ to name but a few. More literal work continues to be published to date including plots set even in countries like America where Holocaust never took place. Poetry Holocaust has also influenced poetry, and this includes literal work on the concentration camps and the Nuremberg trials of former Nazi leaders. Among these are Marguerite M. Striar’s Beyond Lament: Poets of the World Bearing Witness to the Holocaust that reinforces the need to document the tragedy for the future generations and William Heyen’s Erika: Poems of the Holocaust. Conclusion The effect of Holocaust has and still continues to influence art and culture in a very special way. This is because the effect of the tragedy was of magnitudes never seen before and probably that will never be seen again. Works Cited Zelizer, Barbie. Visual culture and the Holocaust. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2001. Print. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE), History of the Holocaust — An Introduction. Web, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/history.html Read More