TCHJSG656

(S1) Seeking Justice after the Holocaust

Stephan Lehnstaedt

Information for students

online - LV an der Touro University

Comments

This course will examine the ways in which the legal systems in Europe and in Israel struggled with and sought justice for the victims of the Nazi crimes after the Second World War. Topics will include the Nuremberg trials in postwar Germany and the Eichmann trial in Israel. The events of the Holocaust have a significant effect on almost every aspect of life in Israel. Research conducted on young Israeli Jews reveals, that the vast majority claim the Holocaust to be a central component of their personal and national identity. The ripples of the Holocaust stretch far beyond Jewish society and impact all sectors and residents of the country. Throughout the course, we will observe the changes in the attitudes of Israeli society toward the Holocaust over the years, and the growing influence of the Holocaust memory, which reached its peak during the 1980s. Through analyzing various events such as the Kasztner Trial, the Eichmann Trial, Menachem Begin's election as Prime Minister, and compensations paid by Germany, we will identify the elements of the Holocaust discourse in a country that perceives itself as the 'heir' of the victims who perished between 1939-1945. In Germany, the society for more than 70 Years is dealing with its Nazi past. This happens on private basis in families, but also publicly and in politics. We will thus deal with the Nuremberg Trials and its perception, later trials up to the Demjanjuk trial after the turn of the millenium, and also with the dimension of compensation and the political discussion that came with them. Finally, we will examine different approaches regarding the lessons to be learned from the Holocaust and try to figure out how the story will be told in the future when there are no longer any living Holocaust survivors to give first-hand accounts of what had happened. close