The Holocaust of Greek Jews in the Cultural and Literary Discourse

Authors

Keywords:

Greek Jews, Holocaust memory, Second generation of Holocaust survivors, Israeli culture, Holocaust literature

Abstract

The article discusses in historic-poetic terms the Holocaust of Greek Jews in the collective memory of Israeli society. Historical and political explanations are given for the exclusion of Greek Jews from the Holocaust narrative despite many attempts by Greek survivors to organize and bring their story to the general public. The article offers a new perspective that examines the internal development and relative strength of the first and second generation survivors.

In the 1980s, two cultural milestones occurred: Samuel Raphael established the “Division of the Next Generation” and founded the periodical, We Shall Not Forget, that pays tribute to the Greek survivors; and, following the production of Yehuda Poliker’s father’s story in Auschwitz, “Ashes and Dust”, Orna Ben-Dor directed the film, “Because of That War”.

The article looks at the influence of and price paid by the “next generation” for having raised public awareness of the Holocaust of Greece’s Jews in the Israeli cultural and literary discourse.

Published

2011-12-01

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

The Holocaust of Greek Jews in the Cultural and Literary Discourse. (2011). IYUNIM: Multidisciplinary Studies in Israeli and Modern Jewish Society, 21, 115-140. https://iyunim.bgu.ac.il/index.php/iyunim/article/view/368