Holocaust Testimony, Autobiography, and the Effaced Self.
Holocaust Testimony, Autobiography, and the Effaced Self.
Author(s): Janine HolcSubject(s): Social Sciences, Jewish studies, Media studies, General Reference Works, Communication studies, Sociology, Recent History (1900 till today), Special Historiographies:, History of Judaism, Studies in violence and power, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), History of the Holocaust, History of Antisemitism, Source Material
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego
Keywords: Holocaust; autobiography; testimony; trauma; slave labor
Summary/Abstract: Autobiography is often writing about how a “self” forms over time as it is affected by the conditions it encounters. This definition can be problematic for Holocaust autobiography, because hiding one’s self from others and repressing one’s desires and impulses became crucial to survival. This essay traces the processes by which a “self” emerges for one Holocaust writer and survivor, Helen S., through archival documents, testimonies and memoirs over time. Helen S.’s example demonstrates how an effaced self can have a textual presence before the writer can allow herself to fully inhabit a traumatic personal history.
Journal: Autobiografia Literatura Kultura Media
- Issue Year: 14/2020
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 15-33
- Page Count: 19
- Language: English