Abstract

This research note explores the influence of prewar cultural experiences on two eyewitnesses’ responses to the Holocaust. While differences of gender, age, and social position affected the emotional responses of the two writers, the historical-cultural prewar context informed their ideological responses. Elisheva Binder, a young woman of twenty-one, was influenced by her literary self-education and her faith in the universality of humanistic ethics. In contrast, the writings of war veteran and Judenrat member Juliusz Feuerman reflect his Zionist convictions. That two such different testimonies demonstrate the strength of prewar ideological influences teaches us that in order to rescue the individuality of the victim from the dehumanizing anonymity of the Holocaust, we must consider the writer’s ideals, values, and ideological background.

pdf

Share