Holocaust and Genocide Studies Commons^™

Mass Violence, Environmental Harm, And The Limits Of Transitional Justice, Rachel Killean, Lauren Dempster

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The relationship between the environment and mass violence is complex and multi-faceted. The effects of environmental degradation can destabilize societies and cause conflict. Attacks on the environment can harm targeted groups, and both mass violence and subsequent transitions can have harmful environmental legacies. Given this backdrop, it is notable that the field of transitional justice has paid relatively little attention to the intersections between mass violence and environmental degradation. This article interrogates this inattention and explores the limitations and possibilities of transitional justice as a means of addressing the environmental harms associated with mass violence. The article makes four key …

Climate Disasters, Mass Violence, And Human Mobility In South Sudan: Through A Gender Lens, Marisa O. Ensor

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article examines the links between gender, mass violence, climate change, and displacement in South Sudan. I argue for risk-informed gender-sensitive strategies that incorporate local capacities and sources of resilience. When civil war engulfed South Sudan again in 2013, egregious human rights violations, including sexual and gender-based violence, were perpetrated with near complete impunity. As the national army was divided along Dinka-Nuer ethnic lines, soldiers from each faction turned against each other in a deadly pattern of revenge and counter-revenge attacks that soon spread across the national territory. Inter-communal conflicts also intensified, often centering on competition over land for pasture, …

The Holocaust Paradigm As Paradoxical Imperative In The Century Of Anthropogenic Omnicide, Mark Levene

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The Holocaust and today's climate emergency are not obvious bed fellows. But the post-Holocaust mantra “never again” has also been voiced by some climate activists who see similarities in the failure of Western governments in the 1930s to act to stop Hitler and an equivalent failure now to effectively halt state and corporate drives to biospheric catastrophe. This article examines whether the way Western society has understood the Holocaust in recent decades has relevance to the urge for climate action. It finds the mainstream, state-centred Holocaust paradigm wanting as a framework for empathy and solidarity with those in the Global …

Climate In Crisis: Art And Activism At The Brooklyn Museum, Nancy B. Rosoff

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This paper explores the Brooklyn Museum’s activism-centered museum practice as exemplified by the exhibition Climate in Crisis: Environmental Change in the Indigenous Americas. The exhibition presents the collections of Indigenous art from North, Central, and South America through the lens of climate change and its impact on the survival of Indigenous people. The main thesis is that the current climate emergency is part of a longer history of environmental colonialism that began five hundred years ago. For millennia, Indigenous communities throughout the Americas have maintained profound and expansive relationships with the natural world. However, beginning in the 1500s, Europe’s …

Dossier: The Hunger Plan: The Holocaust, Resource Scarcity, And Preventing Genocide In A Changing Climate, Emily Sample

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Nazi leadership sought to exploit the biological fear of starvation and scapegoat the Jewish population and other “useless eaters” for taking more than their fair share. The Nazis utilized and hyperbolized well-known prejudices against Jewish people, and entrenched narratives of Jewish parasitism as a threat to current and future German lives. In this analysis, food scarcity was one of several reasons for the Holocaust, and the first step to seeking Lebensraum for pure Germans to live to the highest international standard. This article will focus on different aspects of the complex antisemitic rhetoric surrounding issues of resource scarcity, including Hitler’s …

Book Review: Postgenocide: Interdisciplinary Reflections On The Effects Of Genocide, Aldo Zammit Borda

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: The Postcolonial African Genocide Novel: Quests For Meaningfulness, Sabah Carrim

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Armed Conflict, Women And Climate Change, Shelly Clay-Robison

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Interview With Sasha Chanoff Of Refuge Point, Sasha Chanoff, Chris Davey

Interviews

Transcript of interview and audio recording conducted with Sasha Chanoff. Per the "Methodology" section, the transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

This interview was recorded over Zoom and manually transcribed.

Interview With Donatien Shimbi, Donatien Shimbi, Ezra Schrader

Interviews

Transcript of interview and audio recording conducted with Donatien Shimbi. Per the "Methodology" section, the transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

This interview was recorded over Zoom and manually transcribed.

Testimony, Violence, And Silence: An Examination Of Agamben And His Critics, Yagmur Uygarkizi

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This paper investigates the difficulties faced by survivors of atrocities in testifying. I work on the case of female victims of domestic torture as reported by Jeanne Sarson and Linda MacDonald. The starting point is Giorgio Agamben’s Remnants of Auschwitz with his discussion on Primo Levi’s paradox and the testis/superstes/auctor distinction. I build on his nuances while arguing that he has not looked enough into power dynamics that render one speechless. “Unspeakable violence” refers simultaneously to incapacity and not being allowed to speak. Pain renders the victim speechless; perpetrators distort language and speak over survivors. Victims are often not allowed …

Undergraduate Holocaust Education And Biomedical Ethics: What's The Connection?, Tatiana Thompson

Psychology Department Student Scholarship

This poster represents the research results of two studies used to examine Holocaust education in undergraduate colleges and universities.

From Madness To Medicine: How Nazi Medical Experimentation Morphed Into Today’S Medical Field, Alexandria Daughn Kerby

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

It is no secret that many of our current scientific and medical advancements stem from a long history of research, trials, and experimentation, but not enough is known about the origins of our routine practices. The Holocaust enabled Nazi doctors to explore countless victims in search of the ultimate answer to the Jewish question. The answer: to alleviate the burden that those deemed “unworthy of life” placed on the greater society. The mass extermination practices which highlight the atrocities of the Holocaust are the end result of constant scientific developments disguised as medicine. Tiergarten 4 (T4) serves as the beginning …

From Serbia To Xinjiang; A Comparative Analysis Of Genocidal Regimes, Drake Mitchell Olson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Rather than seeking to give a causal explanation of genocide and ethnic cleansing, I ask the more pointed question “are there patterns present at the societal level that signal the potentiality of genocide in a given cultural context?” Through examination of two socially and temporally distinct instances of genocide, the Bosnian genocide and the Uyghur genocide, I argue that there exist certain patterns which precede historical instances of genocide and that these antecedent phenomena contribute to the potential for genocide in those societies. I identify three broad trends that contribute to the potential of genocide: the cultivation of ethnic nationalism …

'The Street Scene Prologue': Holocaust Survivors, The American Nazi Party, And Exodus, Jason Van

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

During the early 1960s when the American Civil Rights movement was beginning to gain momentum, another movement across the world was taking place to solidify the newly formed country of Israel as a sovereign state. To commemorate the foundation of Israel, American director Otto Preminger created the film Exodus, adapted from a book of the same name by Leon Uris. George Lincoln Rockwell, leader of the American Nazi Party, decided to take action by traveling throughout the country with his closest members to protest the film. Rockwell and his group of Nazis were outraged by the pro-Zionist depictions and the …

Dr. Cortez F. Enloe, Jr. Collection, Tara O’Donnell, Robyn Conroy

Strassler Center Archival Collection Finding Aids

This collection is comprised of newspaper volumes, illustrated magazines, lantern slides, and 2 pamphlets donated by Dr. Cynthia H. Enloe. The materials were collected by the donor’s father Dr. Cortez F. Enloe, Jr. in 1930s Germany.

The 4 newspaper volumes (February 1936- June 1936) belong to 4 publishers in Frankfurt, Munich, and Heidelberg: Volksgemeinschaft Heidelberger Beobachter, General Anzeiger der Stadt Frankfurt, Das Illustrierte Blatt, and Munchner Illustrierte Presse. The 10 magazine volumes (June 1936-May 1937) belong to 3 publishers in Munich and Berlin: Munchner Illustrierte Presse, Das Illustrierte Blatt, and Illustrierter Beobachter. These periodicals reveal the increasing influence of Nazi …

The Problem With Pacifism: How Pacifism Can Lead To Genocide And Why One Should Fight To Combat Evil, Mike Consiglio

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

Modern Genocide In China, Nicole Wellington

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

Dr. Cortez F. Enloe, Jr. Collection, Tara O'Donnell, Robyn Conroy

Strassler Center Archival Collection Finding Aids

This collection is comprised of newspaper volumes, illustrated magazines, lantern slides, and 2 pamphlets donated by Dr. Cynthia H. Enloe. The materials were collected by the donor’s father Dr. Cortez F. Enloe, Jr. in 1930s Germany.

The 4 newspaper volumes (February 1936- June 1936) belong to 4 publishers in Frankfurt, Munich, and Heidelberg: Volksgemeinschaft Heidelberger Beobachter, General Anzeiger der Stadt Frankfurt, Das Illustrierte Blatt, and Munchner Illustrierte Presse. The 10 magazine volumes (June 1936-May 1937) belong to 3 publishers in Munich and Berlin: Munchner Illustrierte Presse, Das Illustrierte Blatt, and Illustrierter Beobachter. These periodicals reveal the increasing influence of Nazi …

Healing From Genocidal Rape: An Exploration Of The Trauma Healing Process Among Sevota Members, Delaney Bluhm

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Through a case study of SEVOTA, this paper examines trauma-healing practices among genocidal rape victims. Its primary research objectives are to identify the resources available to victims immediately post-genocide through the present, critically examine how these resources have helped victims heal, and observe any existing or impending challenges to healing from rape-related trauma in Rwanda. It concludes that building a community and providing resources to help with certain situations (such as funding for medical treatments or children’s school fees) are effective methods of trauma-healing among genocidal rape victims in Rwanda.

Lost Art And Lost Lives: Nazi Art Looting And Art Restitution, Sophia Gravenstein

Student Publications

During the Nazi Regime, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis seized an estimated one fifth of all art in Europe and more than 5 million cultural objects before 1945. The Nazis established control over the regime and furthered their racist ambitions through stealing art of any cultural or monetary value to them. They stole “degenerate” art in an attempt to annihilate “racially inferior” races, and “racially pure” art for the glorification of the “Aryan” race. Since the end of WWII, the return of Nazi-looted art to its original owners or their heirs has been an important avenue for remembrance of and …

Tantura, Sheila J. Nayar

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Tantura (2022), directed by Alon Schwarz.

Hannah Arendt And The Lives Of The Female Intellectual Celebrity: Public Imagery And Storytelling Before And Since 1995, Gabrielle G. Johansson

Senior Theses

This thesis explores the lives of Hannah Arendt, specifically her image as a celebrity intellectual before 1995 and variant Arendtian protagonists which arose after 1995, with the publishing of Elżbita Ettinger’s Hannah Arendt/Martin Heidegger. Ettinger’s book was the first of its kind to explore their love letters and create from them a narrative of scandal, passion, and paradox. Before 1995, Arendt’s image was secure as a well-respected philosopher and guide for Vergangenheitsbewältigung. After 1995, Arendt’s image and legacy fragmented as artists and academics tried to make sense of how the celebrated philosopher could have had an affair with …

Righteous: What Holocaust Rescuers Can Teach Us About A More Altruistic Society, Jill Bodnar

Graduate Student Research Symposium

Stories about Holocaust rescuers are not well known to the general American public. These unsung heroes were a small subset of non-Jews from across Europe who went against the dark climate of antisemitism and racial cleansing led by Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 40s. As the reality of the Final Solution grew, these rescuers made the moral decision to risk their lives to save innocent Jewish friends, neighbors, and strangers from capture and death. On top of the rarity of their actions, after the war they often did not speak of their work, largely because they did not see …

2022 Genz Story Expression Projects: Jack Pechter, Sindee Kerker

GenZ Story Expression Projects eBooks

On February 14, 2022, Lynn University hosted its 11th GenZ Story Expression Workshop, and features Holocaust survivor Jack Pechter.

There were approximately 135 students from eight different classes with 17 facilitators and two rabbis who participated in this event. The workshop was conducted on Zoom with the technical assistance of Dr. Sanne Unger. Dr. Unger moderated the Q&A after the Holocaust survivor, Mr. Pechter, shared his story.

Pathway To The Shoah: The Protocols, "Jewish Bolshevism", Rosenberg, Goebbels, Ford, And Hitler, David M. Crowe

History Faculty Books and Book Chapters

In the dark months after the defeat at Stalingrad in 1943, Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Party’s strident, virulently anti-Semitic propaganda minister, wrote in his diary that he had “devoted exhaustive study to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” despite the fact that some argued that “they were not suited to present-day propaganda.” After rereading them, he concluded that “we can use them very well,” since The Protocols were “as modern today as they were when published for the first time.” The same day, May 13, 1943, he met with Hitler, who told his propaganda minister that he thought they …

"They Will Change The Situation Immediately": Perpetrator Subgroups And Germany's Genocidal Practices In Southwest Africa, James Michael Thaxton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The genocide of the Herero tribe in German Southwest Africa illuminates the horrors of colonialism broadly and of German settler colonialism more specifically. I contend that the perpetrators of this event can be separated into two broad subgroups, the Old Africans and the Metropole Soldiers, distinguished by their intentions, exploitative and exterminatory respectively, concerning the indigenous tribes. Those intentions were formed over varying lengths of time but are the result of either firsthand experience with the racial hierarchy in the colony or relying on information and misinformation relayed to the metropole. Utilizing primarily letters, diaries, journals, and postcards, I argue …

Aspects Of The Holocaust During The Slovak Autonomy Period (October 6, 1938, To March 14, 1939), Madeline Vadkerty

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Antisemitism was not a new phenomenon in Slovakia and can be traced back to the Middle Ages and beyond. Looking at the more recent past, after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise in 1867, Jews became equal citizens in the eyes of the state. The Hungarian Parliament passed an Act of Emancipation for Jews that same year, mainly for the purpose of economic development, which was beneficial for the Jewish population. A year later, Hungary's Nationality Act was issued as part of an active policy of magyarization (Hungarianization). However, it did not affect Jews, who were considered a religious group and not a …

The Relationship Between Turks And Armenians Leading Up To And During The Great War, Kutay Agardici

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper examines the long-standing debate over the events that transpired during the late Ottoman Empire between local Armenians and their predominately Muslim neighbors as well as the government. The term, “Armenian Genocide” has been used often to describe these tragic events. My writing goes into depth regarding the background history of this term. I write about the narrative of what happened between the two major groups during the late 19th and early 20th centuries as told by multiple different scholars. Narratives included are of Abdul Hamid II’s reign, the political parties created by Armenians in order for protest, the …

Cultural Predicaments: Neorealism In The Netherlands, 1927–1945, Stephanie Huber

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation takes as its subject Dutch Magic Realism, also known as “Neorealism,” an unsettling style of figurative painting developed by Dutch painters Pyke Koch, Carel Willink, Charley Toorop, Raoul Hynckes, Dick Ket, and Wim Schuhmacher during a moment of rising totalitarian regimes in neighboring countries and the Nazi Occupation of The Netherlands. Like their European counterparts, these Dutch Magic Realists conveyed the experience of modern alienation by perversely appropriating stylistic characteristics and iconographic motifs of revered national schools of painting – in their case, Early Netherlandish and Northern Renaissance traditions.

The fortunes of Neorealism exemplify the pressures brought to …