To Traumatize or to Put under a Taboo? Holocaust Narratives in Children’s Literature Cover Image

Traumatyzować czy tabuizować? Narracje holokaustowe w literaturze dziecięcej
To Traumatize or to Put under a Taboo? Holocaust Narratives in Children’s Literature

Author(s): Krzysztof Rybak
Subject(s): History, Language and Literature Studies, History of the Holocaust, Sociology of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej
Keywords: children’s literature; Shoah; Holocaust; taboo; traumatization

Summary/Abstract: The article investigates the ways of representing the Holocaust in children’s literature published in Poland in the 21st century (e.g. Joanna Rudniańska’s Kotka Brygidy and Smoke by Antón Fortes and Joanna Concejo). Phenomena such as anti-Semitism or death of the main character, called by researchers and critics inappropriate for a young audience, are analyzed with the use of the research on taboo in children’s literature (Bogusława Sochańska and Justyna Czechowska) as well as confronted with the threat of “traumatization” of the young reader (Małgorzata Wójcik-Dudek). The analysis proves that the Shoah only appears to be well-represented in children’s literature as many topics are still omitted.

  • Issue Year: 6/2021
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 251-264
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Polish