Synopses & Reviews
Atrocities committed by the Nazis during the Holocaust were photographed extensively. These images have been subjected to a perplexing variety of treatments: variously ignored, suppressed, distorted and--above all--exploited for propaganda purposes or political interest. This book examines the history of this aspect of the Holocaust--its aftermath and afterlife. Whether taken by Nazis or their collaborators, by Jews themselves, their sympathizers and the resistance movements in the occupied territories, or by Allied forces at the end of the war, Struk suggests that the provenance of these images has been seen as of secondary importance to their meaning and the political ends they have been used for--from the desperate attempts of the war-time underground, to the memorial museums of Europe, the US and Israel today. Struk recounts the history of the use and abuse of Holocaust photographs and asks whether or not these images can serve as "evidence", as true representations of the events they depict. The book is illustrated with a wide range of photographs, including some never before seen.
Review
"Tells us a great deal about the production, circulation, use and misuse of photographic images of the Holocaust." - H-Net Reviews
About the Author
Janina Struk is a freelance photographer and writer and a former senior lecturer in photography, University of Westminster in London.
Table of Contents
List of illustrations * Acknowledgements * Author's Note * Introduction: A Photograph from the Archives * Photography and National Socialism 1933-39 * Photographs as Evidence * Armed with a Camera * Cameras in the Ghettos * Cameras in the Camps * Liberations * Constructing the Post-war Memory: 'Don't Mention the Jews' * Commercializing the Holocaust: 'There's No Business Like Shoah Business' * Interpretations of the Evidence * Dying for Eternity * Notes * Bibliography * Index