The Future of the Holocaust: Between History and Memory - Softcover

Lang, Berel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 080148569X ISBN 13: 9780801485695

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 1999

Synopsis

In The Future of the Holocaust, Berel Lang continues his inquiry into the causal mechanisms of decision-making and conduct in Nazi Germany and into responses to the genocide by individuals and nations-an inquiry that he began in Act and Idea in the Nazi Genocide and pursued in Heidegger's Silence. Raising the question now of what the future of the Holocaust is, he addresses among other topics how history and memory together shape views of the Holocaust; how the concept of "intention"-which played a crucial part in the events of half a century ago-shapes history and memory themselves; and how future views of this genocide may alter those of today.In addition, Lang explores cultural representations of the "Final Solution"-from monuments to public school curricula-within the Jewish and German communities. He analyzes ethical issues concerning such concepts as intention, responsibility, forgiveness, and revenge, and puts forward a theory of the history of evil which provides a context for the Holocaust both historically and morally. Addressing the claims that the Nazi genocide was unique, Lang argues that the Holocaust is at once an actual series of events and a still future possibility. If the Holocaust occurred once, he argues, it can occur twice-and this view of the future remains an unavoidable premise for anyone now writing or thinking about that event in the past.

About this title

Review:

"Lang's philosophical reflections touch on many dilemmas that have been central to Holocaust studies. These include issues of uniqueness and comparability, intentionality and the continuation of guilt over time. To all of these, Lang brings a careful philosophical probing and, sometimes, fresh insight. While judicious and constantly mindful of the ethical dimensions of various positions, he is not afraid to work through their logical consequences and ramifications, to ask unexpected and unsettling questions or to make surprising analogies. The outcome is that sometimes he questions the whole way in which debates have been framed and the presuppositions on which they rest."

--Sharon MacDonald, University of Sheffield "Journal of Holocaust Education "

"The Future of the Holocaust is an important, scholarly, essential, highly recommended contribution to holocaust studies in general, and the preservation of authentic history and the role of historians in documenting and refuting attempts to deceive the future generations regarding their past."

--Reviewer's Bookwatch

"Lang... has compiled in this volume eleven thought-provoking essays... This is a useful, stimulating, and carefully researched anthology for both the general reader and the specialist in Holocaust studies."

--Leon Stein, Roosevelt University. Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Vol. 15, No. 2, Fall 2001

"These brilliantly incisive and morally unrelenting essays challenge us to recognize the presence of the Holocaust in our contemporary culture and to continue the painful process of drawing lessons from it."

--Omer Bartov, Rutgers University

"This outstanding collection of essays is distinguished by its almost uncanny good sense, its capacity to render wise, humane, and consistently persuasive judgments on nearly every crucial aspect of Holocaust studies."

--Steven J. Zipperstein, Koshland Professor in Jewish Culture and History, Stanford University

Synopsis:

In this work, Berel Lang continues his inquiry into the causal mechanisms of decision-making and conduct in Nazi Germany and into responses to the genocide by individuals and nations. He explores how history and memory shape views of the Holocaust, and how future views may alter those of today. In addition, Lang explores cultural representations of the "Final Solution" - from monuments to public school curricula - within the Jewish and German communities. He analyzes ethical issues concerning such concepts as intention, responsibility, forgiveness and revenge and puts forward a theory of the history of evil which provides a context for the Holocaust both historically and morally. Addressing the claims that the Nazi genocide was unique, Lang argues that the Holocaust is at once an actual series of events and a still future possibility. If the Holocaust occurred once, he argues, it can occur twice - and this view of the future remains an unavoidable premise for anyone now writing or thinking about that event in the past.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 080148569X
• ISBN 13: 9780801485695
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 216