What We Remember and What We Forget: Selective Memory in the Holocaust

Abstract

Why remember atrocity? This paper considers how trauma shapes the political memory of atrocity. What we choose to remember about atrocity is largely determined by the visibility of events, but also impacted by social norms, normalized violence, and perceptions of atrocity. Certain events, although common or not necessarily unusual, are suppressed from memory (both in collective and individual narratives) due to fear, shame, guilt, or disgust. In genocide, we rarely hear about acts that induce emotions such as the ones mentioned, including acts of rape, prostitution, and parricide. Most often, such acts are omitted from the narrative because they are not normal crimes in the societies where they occur, and are seen as particularly horrific. The consequence of this omission is a skewed image or conception of genocide and what it does to the people who are part of it, either as victims or perpetrators. This paper determines that, however uncomfortable, unusual, or painful it is to remember such acts, the memory of such acts is necessary to understand the mechanics of atrocity and victimization. It uses a case study of the Holocaust, focusing on sexual violence, to illustrate the concepts of memory omission, skewed historical perception, and the necessity of understanding atrocity through accurate memory.