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The Pennsylvania State University the Graduate School the FIGURE The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School THE FIGURE OF THE CHILD IN HOLOCAUST REPRESENTATIONS A Dissertation in German by Mallory Bubar © 2020 Mallory Bubar Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2020 ii The dissertation of Mallory Bubar was reviewed and approved* by the following: Sabine Doran Associate Professor of German and Jewish Studies Dissertation Co-Advisor Co-Chair of Committee Samuel Frederick Associate Professor of German Dissertation Co-Advisor Co-Chair of Committee Daniel Purdy Professor of German Studies Eliyana Adler Associate Professor in History and Jewish Studies Thomas Beebee Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Comparative Literature and German Head of the Department iii ABSTRACT My dissertation titled “The Figure of the Child in Holocaust Representations” focuses on the child as a narrative construct and its function in Holocaust literature, film, and museums. Before my work, the figure of the child in the context of Holocaust representation had not been adequately researched at the academic level, despite its prominent presence in Holocaust representation since the immediate post-war years, starting with the popularity of Anne Frank’s diary. In order to adequately observe the child figure phenomenon, I investigate each medium of Holocaust representation and conduct close readings of popular or well-known representations using Hayden White’s concept of the middle voice and Alison Landsberg’s work in memory studies in order to illustrate how the child’s constructed innocence can impact a work. The first chapter focuses on literary representations of the child and close readings ranging from The Diary of Anne Frank to W.G. Sebald’s Austerlitz. I examine the particular narrative techniques the works use via the child figure to negotiate the impossibilities of Holocaust representation. The second chapter discusses filmic representations of children with an emphasis on film post Schindler’s List. I observe the unique role that films with an emphasis on the child as storyteller play in the discussion of the Holocaust and how a child’s viewpoint can provide a new visual manner of representing the Holocaust in film. The third chapter focuses on museums representations of the Holocaust child figure, centering on USHMM’S Daniel’s Story and its connection to the larger museum spaces dedicated to the atrocities. I evaluate the positioning of the child figure within institutional walls and the educational reach a child’s perspective can have on a visitor. In my conclusion, I examine the digital shift and the future impact of digital tools on these institutions. The works I discuss range from the historical to the fictional to show the child figure’s broad impact on Holocaust representation. My research provides an evaluation of the child’s role iv across all three mediums of representation and how its perceived innocence can interrupt a standard narrative. By investigating the representations of children in Holocaust narratives, I provide a new approach and way of reading the canonical material as well as new applications of archival material. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... ix Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 Previous Contributions to the Field ................................................................................. 4 Terms, Definitions, and Methodologies .......................................................................... 8 Chapter Overview ............................................................................................................ 12 Chapter One ............................................................................................................. 13 Chapter Two............................................................................................................. 16 Chapter Three........................................................................................................... 19 Chapter One The Child as Literary Witness ............................................................................ 22 The Voice from the Annex .............................................................................................. 24 The Non-Contemporaneous Child in Holocaust Representations ................................... 30 The Child in Ruth Kluger's Still Alive ............................................................................. 35 A Childhood Nonetheless ........................................................................................ 37 The Struggle with Memory and Memoriam ............................................................ 45 The Child as Unrealized Focal Point in Sebald's Austerlitz............................................. 49 The Hidden Child Austerlitz .................................................................................... 52 Factual Photographs and a Fictional Story .............................................................. 58 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 64 Chapter Two The Small Child on the Big Screen .................................................................. 67 The Little Girl in the Red Coat ........................................................................................ 69 The Alternative Nature of the Child's Perspective........................................................... 76 Splitting the Narrative .............................................................................................. 77 Fictionalizing the Holocaust .................................................................................... 82 Elemental Powers: Water and Fire .......................................................................... 87 Absurdity and Play ................................................................................................... 89 The Implications of Innocence Outside the Barbed Wire ................................................ 93 Juxtapositions and Duality ....................................................................................... 95 The Perpetrator Child's Voice .................................................................................. 100 The Issue of the Constructed Perpetrator Child ....................................................... 102 Representing the Holocaust Horror through Film ........................................................... 108 The Child Figure and Holocaust Film Taboo .................................................................. 109 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 117 Chapter Three The Child Figure in the Educational Space ..................................................... 119 vi Daniel's Story ................................................................................................................... 123 The Museum within the City Space ................................................................................. 128 The Children's Exhibit within the National Memorial Museum...................................... 133 Structure and Presentation ............................................................................................... 135 Tangibility and the Experiential Site ............................................................................... 143 The Narrative at Play ....................................................................................................... 150 The Choral Nature of Victim's Voices ............................................................................. 154 Colors and Flooring ......................................................................................................... 157 Manifestations of an Artifact ........................................................................................... 165 Real vs. "Real" ................................................................................................................. 168 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 174 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 178 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 184 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Giosue looks for his father, Life is Beautiful............................................................ 67 Figure 2: Bruno meets Shmuel, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. ......................................... 67 Figure 3: Spielberg's girl in red, Schindler's List. ................................................................... 67 Figure 4: Schindler's girl during liquidation, Schindler's List ................................................ 72 Figure 5: Schindler's girl among the corpses, Schindler's List ............................................... 72 Figure 6: Gisoué in Benigni's Life is Beautiful ......................................................................
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