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Copyright by Patrick Joseph Thomas 2018 The Thesis committee for Patrick Joseph Thomas Certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: Agnieszka Holland: Challenging Holocaust Memory and Representation in Film APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Tatjana Lichtenstein, Supervisor David F. Crew Agnieszka Holland: Challenging Holocaust Memory and Representation in Film by Patrick Joseph Thomas Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin August, 2018 Abstract Agnieszka Holland: Challenging Holocaust Memory and Representation in Film Patrick Joseph Thomas, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2018 Supervisor: Tatjana Lichtenstein The following investigation into the Holocaust films of Polish-Jewish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland aims to identify the ways in which Holland both pushes the genre forward and challenges the traditional memory of the war in Poland. Rather than adhering to formalist conventions in portraying the Holocaust in cinema, Holland breaks the genre’s representational taboos, avoiding a binary narrative and instead engaging in a morally challenging confrontation with the past. Moreover, by focusing on the shared suffering of Poles and Jews during the war and occupation, Holland’s Holocaust films recast the memory of the war to better reflect its complex and at times ambiguous nature. This critical perspective offers a reconciliatory discourse in the competing national memories of both Catholic Poles and Jewish Poles. Specifically, this investigation examines Angry Harvest, Europa Europa, and In Darkness to conclude that the Holocaust films of Agnieszka Holland present a more complete and nuanced portrait of wartime conditions during World War II in Eastern Europe, and Poland in particular. iv Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Holocaust as a “genre” ................................................................................................................ 6 Imagery and Image Making ........................................................................................................ 8 Identity and Memory ................................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 2: Agnieszka Holland (film/television director/auteur, screenwriter) ............................. 17 Chapter 3: Angry Harvest ............................................................................................................. 29 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 29 The Film .................................................................................................................................... 30 Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 33 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 43 Chapter 4: Europa Europa ............................................................................................................. 45 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 45 The Film .................................................................................................................................... 46 Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 49 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 55 Chapter 5: In Darkness.................................................................................................................. 58 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 58 The Film .................................................................................................................................... 60 Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 64 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 72 Chapter 6: Conclusion................................................................................................................... 74 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 79 v Chapter 1: Introduction In January of 2018, the President of Poland Andrzej Duda approved an anti-defamation bill which made it illegal to assign or imply responsibility for the Holocaust to the Polish nation. Entitled the “Amended Act on the Institute of National Remembrance” (1998/2018), it is intended to punish those who attribute Holocaust crimes to Poland or the Polish nation with fines and up to three years in prison. The bill also states that “If the perpetrator…acts unintentionally, they shall be liable to a fine or restriction of liberty” and “An offence is not committed if the perpetrator…acted within the framework of artistic or scientific activity.”1 Yet, the details regarding how artistic and scientific content will be evaluated, and by whom, have remained vague and non-committal. The law reflects not only how significant the interpretation of Holocaust history is for its political elites, but also the important role artists and scholars play in shaping the memory of the Holocaust in Poland. Indeed, through their art and scholarship, they have continually grappled with issues stemming from the war. At times, they have challenged the uniformly heroic memory of the events perpetuated by political elites at home and abroad. Even as the image of Poles as heroes and victims continues to dominate public memory of the war in Poland, as it has for more than six decades, artists and scholars have added more uncomfortable yet humanizing narratives about the past. At times, their work has been highly controversial. Polish filmmakers have contributed to this discussion in valuable ways by illuminating the hardships endured by both Poles and Jews during the war. However, faced with the complicated and sensitive nature of the war in Poland, they have often had to compromise or generalize in the portrayals of either side. From the outset of her career, Polish filmmaker 1 Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości. „Nowelizacja ustawy o IPN.” https://www.ms.gov.pl/pl/informacje/news,10368,nowelizacja-ustawy-o-ipn--wersja-w-jezyku.html. Accessed May 30, 2018. 1 Agnieszka Holland recognized how these compromises led to distortions of facts or perpetuation of stereotypes. When creating her films about the Holocaust, Holland’s aim has been to present an unvarnished look at individuals’ actions during the war. By challenging the accepted form and function of Holocaust film, Holland has taken an unflinching look at people’s motivations and responses in these morally challenging years and by doing so highlighted the human story in the Holocaust. Her films thus help recast the narratives about Poles and Jews during the war by focusing on a shared humanity and thus suggesting a path of reconciliation. For the purpose of this study, I will analyze the following Holocaust films produced by Agnieszka Holland: Angry Harvest (1985), Europa Europa (1990), and In Darkness (2011).2 These films represent attempts to investigate the Holocaust from a Polish perspective and they have all gained international attention and acclaim. The three films share certain attributes that make them particularly useful for an investigation of the representation and memory of the Holocaust in Poland. For example, all are films produced since the 1980s. Since the creation of artifacts related to the Holocaust invariably reflect the temporal context within which they are produced, I chose films that represent a viable link to the current cultural memory. More importantly, as observed by Laurie Vickroy, “narratives about trauma flourished particularly in the 1980s and 1990s with increased public awareness of trauma and trauma theory.”3 The films also focus on the relations between Jews and non-Jews during the Holocaust in Eastern Europe. Unlike the Western experience of the Holocaust, the war in Eastern Europe, and Poland specifically, involved the local populations in complex ways that defy simple classification. The upheaval of social and class norms on the basis of racial hierarchies led to a 2 Angry Harvest, Directed by Agnieszka Holland (1985; Germany: Central Cinema Company Film (CCC)); Europa Europa, Directed by Agnieszka Holland (1990; Germany: Central Cinema Company Film (CCC)); In Darkness, Directed by Agnieszka Holland (2011; Poland: Production Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej). 3 Laurie Vickroy, Trauma and Survival in Contemporary Fiction (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2002), p. 2. 2 redistribution of power that blurred the lines of friend and foe. The direct-line sequence often depicted in films wherein Germans