Synopses & Reviews
Five decades after the end of World War II, issues relating to the history and meaning of the Holocaust, far from fading from social consciousness, have, if anything intensified. New generations probe the past and its implications for understanding human behavior. As fresh information about the particularities of the Holocaust comes to light, we know more and more about how these events happened, but the deeper question of "why" remains unanswered. In this compelling volume, Jewish and Christian thinkers from Israel, Germany, and Eastern Europe, as well as the United States and Canada, among them scholars from the fields of history, theology, ethics, genetics, the arts, and literature, confront the legacy of the Holocaust and its continuing impact from the perspectives of their disciplines. The issue of religion is central, as the Vatican's 1998 statement We Remember: Reflections on the Shoah prompts Jewish and Christian contributors to address issues of responsibility, evil, and justice within their concrete historical and social settings. The essays in this important interfaith, international, and interdisciplinary volume will leave readers pondering the unavoidable question: what, in view of the crimes of the Holocaust, is the nature of human nature?
About the Author
Michael Signer is Co-Director of the University of Notre Dame Holocaust Project and Professor of Jewish Thought and Culture at the University of Notre Dame.
Table of Contents
Preliminary Table of Contents:
Preface
1. Facing the Shoah: Memory, History, Metaphor Saul Friedlander
Part 1. The Impact of the Holocaust: An Interdisciplinary Approach
2. Divine and Human Responsibility in the Light of the Holocaust John T. Pawlikowski
3. Racism and Ethics Sidra DeKoven Ezrahi
4. The Impact of the Holocaust on Christians and Jews: The Strange and the Familiar Joan Ringelheim
5. Against Redemption: The Arts of Counter-memory James E. Young
Part 2. Theology from the Depths: New Directions in Germany
Introduction: Four German Theologians Robert A. Krieg
6. In the Shadow of the Shoah: Being a Theologian in Germany Today Hans Hermann Henrix
7. The Revival of the Jewish People Within the Christian Consciousness in Germany Peter von der Osten-Sacken
8. An Alternative for Christian Substitution Theology and Christology After the Shoah Bertold Klappert
9. After Sixty Years--How Can We Speak of Guilt, Suffering, and Reconciliation? Hanspeter Heinz
Part 3. The Limits of Covenant
Introduction: The Limits of Covenant John K. Roth
10. The Holocaust: Reflections from the Perspective of Asian Liberation Theology Peter C. Phan
11. Martin Buber and Romano Guardini: A Case Study in Jewish-Catholic Dialogue Robert A. Krieg
12. Wounded Word, Wounded Interpreter Peter Ochs
13. Pour Out Your Heart Like Water: Toward a Jewish Feminist Theology of the Holocaust Rachel Adler
Part 4. Racism and Ethics: The Social Uses of Science
Introduction: Eugenics and the Social Uses of Science: Non-Religious Factors in the Genesis of the Holocaust Phillip R. Sloan
14. The Ghost of Galton: Eugenics Past, Present, and Future Daniel J. Kevles
15. Eugenics and Race Hygiene in the German Context: The Legacy of Science Turned Bad? Peter Weingart
16. Eugenics After the Holocaust: The Limits of Reproductive Rights Roberta M. Berry
17. Heredity and Genetics After the Holocaust Jonathan Marks
18. The Significance of Nazi Eugenics for Medical Ethics Today Didier Pollefeyt
Part 5. History, Coexistence, and Conflict: Gentiles and Jews in East Central Europe
Introduction: Challenging History: Reflections on the Holocaust in Austria, Germany, and Poland Doris L. Bergen
19. Non-Jews and Jews in Austria Before, During, and After the Holocaust Gerhard Botz
20. Jews and Non-Jews in Austria J. Robert Wegs
21. Who is Jewish? The Newest Jewish Writing in German and Daniel Goldhagen Sander L. Gilman
22. What is Cultural Identity? Victoria J. Barnett
23. Poland and the Memory of the Holocaust Michael C. Steinlauf
24. Poland and the Holocaust Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska
Part 6. Lost Hope and Betrayal: The Survivors
Introduction: "Reading" the Holocaust Arnold J. Band
25. Damaged Childhood in Holocaust Fact and Fiction Lawrence Langer
26. Dealing with the Holocaust: "After Auschwitz" in Germany Edna Brocke
27. Video History of the Holocaust: The Case of the Shoah Foundation Michael Berenbaum
28. What to Do: Approaches to Post-Holocaust Education David R. Blumenthal
Part 7. Beyond the Survivor: Aesthetic Representations of the Holocaust
Introduction: The Notre Dame Holocaust Project John P. Welle
29. Cinematic History, Melodrama, and the Holocaust Marcia Landy
30. Speaking Back to Scripture: The Biblical Strain in Holocaust Poetry John Felstiner
31. Two Models in the Study of Holocaust Literature Alan Mintz
32. The Jewish-Christian Encounter: A Matter of Faith Remi Hoeckman
Contributors
Index