Passing on the Periphery: A Call for the Critical Reconsideration of Research on Identity ‘Passing’ as a Jewish Response to Persecution During the Holocaust

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article calls for a revisitation and reevaluation of passing experiences in Holocaust research and remembrance. In this article, passing denotes the concealing of one’s Jewish identity by adopting a non-Jewish, non-persecuted identity in the attempt to function as Gentile, ‘Aryan,’ or as a member of another, more protected group. In recent years, passing narratives have become more visible in Holocaust canon. However, these accounts are most often integrated into frameworks of hiding, resistance, and Gentile-directed rescue, if at all, and are largely discounted in Holocaust memory. Incorporating passing experiences as a mere element in dominant commemorative narratives of evasion and defiance elides the stories and experiences of individuals who attempted to survive in plain sight. Moreover, their exclusion and minimization preclude deeper inquiry into passing as a Jewish response to persecution. The diversity of experience among passers, as well as its day-to-day nuances, provide critical insight that helps us understand and engage with more diverse survival experiences during the Holocaust and offers greater insight into both the field at large and to broader interdisciplinary arenas. This article highlights the distinctiveness of passing as a method of survival, assesses the ways in which it has been silenced in broader perspectives, and comments on its place in Holocaust memory.