Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Panoramic View In Front Of And Behind My Façade: Perceptions Of A Viennese Palace, Anna-Maria Hubel

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

No abstract provided.

Dogma: How A Convenient Narrative Led To The Holocaust, Morgan R. Schroeder

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

No abstract provided.

Jewish Women As Subjects And Creators Of Holocaust Art, Digital Commons, Rebekah N. Kalmbach

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

There are pieces of Holocaust and post-Holocaust art that portray the Jewish woman as a symbol of victimhood and suffering, but do these depictions allow the narratives of Jewish women to be heard, or do they stifle them? Instead of focusing on the Jewish women as symbols of objectified self-sacrifice, there should be more focus on the art created by Jewish women who witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust through their creations. By examining the art and experiences of Jewish women in concentration camps, space is made for their voices, and they are no longer representational, but intrinsically human.

Sonic Salvation: A Neuroscientific Exploration Of Music's Role In Cultural Preservation In The Wake Of The Holocaust, Regan K. Recklaus

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

As easy as it would be to begin this essay with a succinct “music is” statement (e.g. “music is life” or “music is power”), it would be akin to encapsulating the boundless expanse of the cosmos in a single photograph. It would fail to honor the immeasurable richness and complexity of the force which has transformed humanity from a group of disparate apes into a symphony of interconnected souls. For all of history, music has served as a means for humans to tap into and express the very things that make them human—their emotions, culture, and individual identities. Its profound …

Where Words Cannot Express, Abigale E. Ernst

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

This research paper takes a closer look into art created during the Holocaust, specifically by children and its significance in terms of art therapy, and how expressions through the arts could have help/ provided comfort to children going through such a traumatizing experience.

My Butterfly, Alice G. Pellemoine

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

This poem explores the experience of a father during the Holocaust. It shows the different losses he and his daughter went through during their time in the camps.

From The Eyes Of Art, Lauren E. Anderson

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

No abstract provided.

Starting Anew: Jewish Immigrants And Refugees Sent To America’S Midwest From Nazi And Post Wwii Germany, Quinn Fabish

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

This paper serves to investigate the reasoning as to why Jewish refugees and immigrants were sent to places in the Midwest. Through the analysis of many primary sources, specifically interviews of Jewish refugees and immigrants, this investigation reveals that the general reasons as to why Jewish immigrants and refugees were sent to the rural Midwest were rooted in economics as well as their assimilation into American society. The rural Midwest offered more potential economic opportunities than other urban areas and allowed Jewish immigrants and refugees to more easily assimilate into American life through various means.

Teaching Our Past To Preserve Our Future: Ignorance And The Insurrection, Haleigh Jacocks

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

No abstract provided.

The Last Prisoners Of War: How Nazi-Looted Art Is Displayed In U.S. Museums, Monica May Thompson

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

How art museums approach NLA is important today because much of the public relies on museums for their education. NLA cases are especially controversial because they are not only legal battles, but ethical ones so museums have to be extra careful approaching them. Even if the museum has won the legal battle the public may not see them as winning the ethical one therefore they might want to avoid displaying this information to the public. However, as we can see with the previous websites, it actually looks worse for museums not to be open and honest about their NLA pieces …

The National Socialists And How They Ostracized An Entire Population, Kathryn Weber

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

In this paper, I analyze how the National Socialists ostracized the Jews before the start of World War II. I also discuss the importance of teaching students about this topic in US schools in a way that promotes historical inquiry, historical empathy, and critical thinking skills. There is an attached lesson plan that I did with 6th-grade students to provide an example of one way to teach students about the Holocaust. Here is my thesis for the paper:

"By examining laws passed by the Reichstag, the organization of the ghettos and the camps, the German education system, correspondence between …

From Leaflets To Tweets: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Propaganda Tools Used By The Nazi Party And Donald Trump, Tj Coleman

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

Since the day he announced his campaign for President, people have been comparing Donald Trump to a Nazi. I, like many of us, have long believed that comparison to be overly simplistic, though not completely without merit. In this essay I analyze that comparison through an examination of the rhetoric and tactics of exclusion used by both Donald Trump and his campaign and the Nazi Party. Though there are substantive differences in some rhetorical tactics, there are also some frightening similarities. It is my hope that an honest and even handed understanding of how our current political moment compares to …

The Problem Of Jewish Agency In The Holocaust: 1939-1945, Joseph Knapik

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

This paper discusses the nuance of Jewish agency during the Holocaust. It argues that full genocide was thwarted by individual efforts which can illustrate a picture of collective defiance. Utilizing Berger’s definition of agency as, “the capacity to exert control and even to transform to some extent ‘the social relations in which one is enmeshed.’” Focusing attention to after 1939 in ghettos and camps, it investigates period sources such as ghetto witness accounts, orders, and diary entries. It allows for a comprehensive depiction of Jewish agency as neither entirely heroic or lachrymose, as painted by popular depiction.

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures: Anti-Semitism, Hopelessness, And The Rise Of The Nazi Party, Benjamin E. Bruster

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

This paper explores the rise the Nazi Party (NSDAP) as a function of compounded poverty, unemployment, economic stagnation, and long-tenured anti-Semitism. In doing so, I aim to understand the Nazis and their supporters not as demons, but as products of their unique historical situation. This perspective offers a greater understanding of Nazism's rise, and it also offers helpful means of thinking about possible fascist regimes in the future.

“The Shawl”: Of Which Bears The Facade, Giselle Carter

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

I looked at Cynthia Ozick's "The Shawl" and analyzed the three main characters in her short story as symbols of different effects of trauma during the Holocaust.

Belsen Silence, Monica Gil

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

I often look to text for musical inspiration, and after searching through swaths of Holocaust poetry online, I discovered "Belsen Silence" by Iolo Lewis. Its message is less graphic than some of the other texts I found, but that in no way detracts from its power of emotion. It is about looking back, tending to old wounds that are no longer fresh but are still healing. The Holocaust may have happened over fifty years ago, but it is still relevant, even alarmingly so at times. Today's reflections on yesterday's shortcomings are arguably the only way we learn, and that is …

S.S. Schatten Schmidt, Emma Albers-Lopez

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

This poem attempts to display the horrors that prisoners in Auschwitz endured, but also the internal struggles of S.S. guards. It has a large focus on music in the camp.

This poem has a personal connection to my family. My great-grandmother did steal Nazi flags to make clothes for her six children. The seventh child was killed in the way that is explained in the poem. That seventh child is where I received my name "Emma". It was a privilege to honor my namesake through this poem.

To See In Color, Sarah Rebban

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

No abstract provided.

The Scapegoat, Katherine Ludwig

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

This essay responds to a claim made in the aftermath of an Anti-Semitic attack. It discusses the treatment of Jews in Europe around the time of the Holocaust and what may have motivated this treatment.

Wagner Contra Mundum: Wagner Versus The World, Caitlin A. Thom

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

An investigation of responses to Wagner in Nazi Germany and post-World War II Israel.

A Flight For Hope, Emma Levich

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

The purpose of this piece was to specifically commemorate the children that were victims of the Holocaust. The butterfly is the international symbol for hope, renewal of life, innocence, and beauty, and so I wanted to create something that captured the spirit and souls of all the children that never had a chance to spread their own beautiful wings and fly away from their terrible fate. The horrible crimes and the overall darkest period in history the children had to suffer through is represented by the big dark butterfly in the corner, dressed with gruesome images of what they were …

The Art Of Censorship, Mark Sieber

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

This work seeks to show a similarity between censorship of Art in Nazi Germany and the censorship of John Adam’s The Death of Klinghoffer. By analyzing historical facts surrounding Nazi policy and comparing them against criticisms of Klinghoffer, a connection is found. Censoring a work of art, regardless of its message, is detrimental not only to the art itself, but also to the culture, voice, and ideas it represents.

Continued Remembrance, Abbigail Mehnert

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

I always found great interest in learning about the Holocaust and how it has affected society even to this day. Through my winter LSFY course “Ashes to Immortality” I got the opportunity to discover a greater empathy for those who suffered, lost their lives, and survived this historic event. I wanted to insure that my piece represented the importance of passing on experiences and knowledge of the Holocaust in hopes that a similar event will never happen again. In my piece, I painted the entrance of Auschwitz converted in red splatters to represent the lives lost. The concentration camp is …

Surviving The Holocaust: Catharsis Through Music, Amanda Hassler

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

No abstract provided.