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10 - Israel and the Holocaust: History, Memory, and Identity

from Part II - Geography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2025

By
Laura Jockusch  and
Avinoam J. Patt
Edited by
Laura Jockusch  and
Devin O. Pendas
Laura Jockusch
Affiliation:
Brandeis University, Massachusetts
Devin O. Pendas
Affiliation:
Boston College
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Summary

This chapter examines the legacy of the Holocaust in all dimensions of Israeli life. It considers the evolving policy landscape, including decisions regarding commemoration, education, and the prosecution of collaborators. It also traces the evolution of the cultural and political status of “survivors.” Initially, resistance fighters were treated as heroes, while ordinary survivors were viewed as passive weaklings unable to defend themselves. Both stances were part of a Zionist understanding of Israeli identity. Over time, especially in the 1960s with the Eichmann Trial and in the wake of the 1973 Yom Kippur war, a more nuanced, mournful view took hold that acknowledged the importance of survival itself as essential for Jewish identity in a precarious world.

Keywords

HolocaustMemoryIsraelZionismDisplaced PersonsYad VashemPalestineNakba

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Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge History of the Holocaust , pp. 234 - 255
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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References

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