Children and the Politics of Memory: Analysis of the Museum Narrative at the Yad Vashem Institute Cover Image

Children and the Politics of Memory: Analysis of the Museum Narrative at the Yad Vashem Institute
Children and the Politics of Memory: Analysis of the Museum Narrative at the Yad Vashem Institute

Author(s): Marcin Zaborski
Subject(s): Politics and communication, History of the Holocaust, Politics of History/Memory
Published by: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek
Keywords: politics of memory; Holocaust; World War II; social communication; communication system;

Summary/Abstract: How does Yad Vashem Institute presents the stories of the youngest participants in the war? What role do children play in its narrative? Do the authors of the exhibition devote separate exhibition to them – or are the children’s fates ‘inscribed’ in the overall message about history? Is the death of victims or the death of heroes at the centre of the message? Is the museum presentation dedicated to specific, individual figures or rather to communities of anonymous participants in wartime events? The author of the article addresses those questions by analysing the narrative line of the Holocaust History Museum (Yad Vashem) in Jerusalem. The research conducted show that the Holocaust story presented in this place focuses on the loss and suffering that resulted in interrupted lives. The perspective of the victims dominates the exhibition analysed. The civilian victims of occupation and Genocide are at the centre of the exhibition.

  • Issue Year: 80/2023
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 60-79
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: English