Historia środowiskowa Holokaustu. (Oksiążce Jacka Małczyńskiego Krajobrazy Zagłady. Perspektywa historii środowiskowej)
An Environmental History of the Holocaust

Summary/Abstract: Review: Jacek Małczyński, Krajobrazy Zagłady: Perspektywa historii środowiskowej [Landscapes of the Holocaust: The Perspective of Environmental History], Wydawnictwo Instytutu Badań Literackich PAN, Warsaw 2018. In her review Tomczok highlights the innovative nature of Jacek Małczyński’s monograph, the implementation of environmental concepts and theories from cultural studies in the Polish context, and especially the material that he presents to portray the Holocaust from different perspectives. One key strength of his book is the refreshing take on the remains of extermination camps and works of art that refer to them, especially art that has an ecological dimension. Małczyński also reflects on the meaning of disanthropisation (dehumanising) the history of the Holocaust and the consequences that result from it. The book allows us to sense that the author does not only write but he conducts interviews, goes on walks, takes photographs, analyses works of art, runs an archive, and thus – working on a variety of material, he uses methods from different academic disciplines. Still, the symbolical dimension of genocide and ecocide that emerges from his project does not forcibly impose ideological conclusions. It remains an invitation to engage in a participative project that is assumed to be work in progress.

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