Narrative techniques The Holocaust in textbooks

1 narrative techniques

1.1 open versus closed narratives
1.2 points of view
1.3 types of moral narrative employed (decline, fatalism or progression)
1.4 implied readers

narrative techniques
open versus closed narratives

narrative techniques found in small number of textbooks ‘closed’, means authorial perspective involves single narrative voice without quotations or complementary documents (as in albanian textbooks). @ other extreme, authors apply, @ least in part, open technique juxtaposing images of different historical events (of man holding passport during apartheid beside image of prisoners arriving in auschwitz in 1 south african textbook, example) in order allude meanings without explaining them. majority of textbooks apply technique midway between these extremes, juxtaposing authorial texts additional perspectives reflected in quotations , textual , visual documentation.

points of view

the predominance of textual , visual documentation produced perpetrators, assures considerable understanding of perpetrators’ lives , motives, found in combination emotive language expressing condemnation of acts, in pathological terms, such descriptions of them ‘crazy’ , ‘unbelievable’ in chinese textbooks. in cases authors inadvertently perpetuate perpetrators’ viewpoint. 1 ivorian textbook, example, presents victims ‘opponents, jews , gypsies’, ‘millions of men, women , children’, ‘jews’, , thereby reinforces idea ‘the’ jews , ‘the’ gypsies (that is, of them) killed result of role ‘opponents’, if killers, @ least according own reasoning, therefore had reason kill them. conflation of members of resistance, jews , gypsies reproduces perpetrators’ view third reich needed defend against alleged threat.

types of moral narrative employed (decline, fatalism or progression)

most striking different ways in authors lend moral value holocaust. authors couch history of holocaust in terms of decline followed progress. however, object of progression varies 1 country another. polish textbooks notably combine stories of national resistance german occupation of poland references polish underground government, polish helpers , jewish resistance exemplified warsaw ghetto uprising. russian textbooks, contrast, usa, focus on progression towards military victory in second world war , present allied military victory in place of victory on holocaust, in particular on camp system. french textbook designed final year of secondary schooling presents history of commemoration of holocaust in progressive terms 1 shifted national homage national moral integrity via acknowledgement of crimes. commonly found narrative of progression 1 ends allusion universal declaration of human rights , convention on prevention , punishment of crime of genocide adopted united nations in 1948.

implied readers

the complexity of presentation of, values named in relation to, , type of (local, national or international) framework in authors place holocaust, reflects prior knowledge of textbooks’ expected readers. north american textbooks, example, emphasize liberal values , tolerance of difference; chinese , albanian textbooks praise local people helped jewish refugees; german textbooks extol democracy , rule of law opposed dictatorship, , assume holocaust german event, product of national socialism in absence of non-german collaborators.