Holocaust Literature

Holocaust Literature An exploration of second-generation publication in Australia by Robin Ann Freeman Graduate Diploma of Professional Writing (Deakin) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Deakin University November 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS Candidature declaration ii Abstract Vl Acknowledgments Vll Introduction 1 Writing Holocaust stories 2 Publishing Holocaust stories 7 Reading Holocaust stories 10 Methodology 12 1. An historical and cultural context to Australian book publishing of the late 20th century 17 A British hegemony: distributing books to the 'colonies' 18 Australia writes: a national voice, or commercial expediency? 20 Fighting back: Australian literature to the world? 23 The government intervenes: protection strategies for Australian consumers 25 The pendulum swings: Australian literature and the teacher critic 27 Authority and influence: creating reputations in the public sphere 30 Valuing culture: the diverse nature of the popular 33 The Australian book business: serendipity and strategies 36 2. The commodification of Australian writers 39 The conglomerate publisher: managing products for a healthy bottom line 40 Economics, ideology and commercialisation of the public sphere 42 The machinations of the Australian book retailing trade 44 Writers, editors and products 48 Promotions and publicity: a private life in a public sphere 53 The aspirational reader and the pleasure of 'knowing' 56 The unpredictable valuing of cultural objects 58 3. Inheriting the Holocaust: causal factors of second-generation writing 61 Berger's metaphor for the second generation 62 Self-healing and the building of a moral society 64 The characteristics of the second-generation witness 66 Memorial candles: the emotional burden of being someone else 72 Sharing common stories 74 Identity and the naming of Australian Jewishness 77 In search of the exiled self 83 4. The anxieties and influences of Holocaust writing 88 The canonisation of Holocaust literature 88 Culture, politics and the codification of Holocaust stories 91 Representing the 'unrepresentable' 94 Australian influences on second-generation Holocaust writing 99 Demidenko and Holocaust representation in the Australian public sphere 102 A confrontation with the privileging of survivor's testimony 106 The influence of Holocaust memorialisation on the second generation 108 5. The Fiftieth Gate: a case study in 'popular' publishing 112 Signposts for bestsellers 113 Strategies for stimulating media interest in The Fiftieth Gate 114 The media response to Harper Collins's tactics 122 The Fiftieth Gate's appeal to readers 124 The appropriate use of the sacred 128 Marketing pragmatics with a touch of serendipity 130 6. Lily Brett: the creation of a writing career 133 Holocaust poetry as 'alternative' testimony 137 Stories of immigration and family life 140 Liminal identities in fact and fiction 143 Tangible success: publishing with a multinational publisher 146 The author at work: Brett's engagement with her audience 150 The Brett sisters' disputed past 151 Brett's reception in Germany: a sentimental journey 155 Conclusion 158 Of writing, publishing and reading Holocaust stories 158 Niche markets in a post-conglomerate world? 163 Bibliography 167 ABSTRACT Normally we expect the magic of art to intensify, transfigure and elevate actuality. Touch the Holocaust and the flow is reversed (Clendinnen 1998, p. 185). This dissertation explores the relationships between the second-generation Holocaust writer, the Australian publishing industry and the reading public. It contends that a confluence of elements has made the 'genre' of second-generation Holocaust writing publishable in the late 20th century in a way that would not seem obvious from its major themes and the risk-averse publishing strategies increasingly adopted by the multinational conglomerates controlling the Australian industry. The research explores the nature of connections between writing, publishing and reading Holocaust literature, seeking to answer the following questions: What are the driving forces that compel children of Holocaust survivors to write about their parents' lives and their own experiences of growing up in a 'survivor' family? By what mechanisms are such stories published in an Australian industry dominated by international conglomerates focused on mass-market publishing? How do readers receive and make sense of this material? ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I acknowledge with gratitude the support and assistance of many individuals during the completion of the research and writing of this thesis. In particular, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr Wenche Ommundsen, Associate Professor in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University, who graciously accepted the role mid-term and has offered me support, encouragement and constructive advice. Also, to Mr Ron Gilbert my original supervisor, who retired before my completion, I offer my thanks. I am grateful for the services of the volunteers of Melbourne's Makor Jewish Community Library whose archives provided a rich source of information. I thank my friend Dr George Halasz who offered the transcript of his address 'Bungee Jumping Between the Lines', and also other Jewish writers and academics who attended the first Australian Modern Jewish Literature Symposium at the University of Western Australia in July 1998 and did not dissuade me from the task ahead. I thank Mr Lionel Sharpe, Lecturer in Australian Jewish History in the School of Historical Studies at Monash University Melbourne for assistance with useful references. Finally, I express my gratitude for the support and encouragement of my colleagues in Professional Writing and Literary Studies in the School of Communication and Creative Arts. INTRODUCTION This dissertation explores the relationships between the second-generation Holocaust writer, the Australian publishing industry and the reading public. It contends that a confluence of elements has made the' genre' of second-generation Holocaust writing publishable in the late 20th century in a way that would not seem obvious from its major themes and the risk-averse publishing strategies increasingly adopted by the multinational conglomerates controlling the Australian industry. This research explores the nature of connections between writing, publishing and reading, seeking to answer the following questions: What are the driving forces that compel children of Holocaust survivors to write about their parents' lives and their own experiences of growing up in a 'survivor' family? By what mechanisms are such stories published in an Australian industry dominated by international conglomerates focused on mass-market publishing? Bearing in mind the salutary reminder of historian Inga Clendinnen, that 'Normally we expect the magic of art to intensify, transfigure and elevate actuality. Touch the Holocaust and the flow is reversed', rendering art 'vacuous and drained of authority' (1998, p. 185), it is difficult to believe in the existence of a popular market 1 that would justify commercial publication. Why, nearing the end of the 20 h century, did the multinational companies that dominate the Australian publishing industry begin to publish such apparently unpalatable material? What is it about these stories and/or their authors that generate appeal to readers? How do readers receive and make sense of this material? It is not the intention of this dissertation to explore in particular detail the nature of the Holocaust or its representation by the generation of eyewitnesses, the survivors. The writings of the foremost amongst them, Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi, however, 1 provide an important context to the complexities of the discourse that surrounds Holocaust representation and the sometimes contradictory messages visited upon the actors foregrounded by the study: the second-generation writers. The nature of the Holocaust and its meaning to humankind, its uniqueness or otherwise and its appropriate representation to following generations have formed the substance of an intellectual discourse spanning more than fifty years. Perceptions of the Holocaust have altered over time, and changes to the 'collective memory' of the event owe more to contemporary culture than to any intrinsic details of the Holocaust itself (Novick 2000; Tal 1996).1 The Holocaust has been variously described: by Elie Wiesel as a unique event, 'the ultimate mystery never to be comprehended or transmitted' (in Novick 2000, p. 211). Primo Levi suggests that it will be remembered 'as the central event, the scourge of this century' (Levi 1989, p. 8), and political philosopher Hannah Arendt, perhaps most appropriately, labels it as a 'crime against humanity, perpetrated on the body of the Jewish people' (Arendt 1964, p. 269). In this sense the Holocaust is important to all humanity, but it is its legacy to what has become known as the 'second generation', the sons and daughters of Holocaust survivors, that gives the event particular relevance to this study. Writing Holocaust stories Second-generation Holocaust survivors are self-defining within the modem literary culture. Not all children of Holocaust survivors become writers and of those who do, 1 In the 1920s sociologist Maurice Halbwachs used the term 'collective memory' to describe his observation that 'present concerns determine what of the past we remember and how we remember it' (Novick 2000, p. 3). 'Collective memory simplifies; sees events from a single, committed perspective; is impatient with

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