JEWS Holocaust Ethics, Representation, and the “Grey Zone”
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This open access library edition is supported by Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale. JUDGING “PRIVILEGED” JEWS This open access library edition is supported by Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale. War and Genocide General Editors: Omer Bartov, Brown University; A. Dirk Moses, European University Institute, Florence, Italy/University of Sydney There has been a growing interest in the study of war and genocide, not from a traditional military history perspective, but within the framework of social and cultural history. This series offers a forum for scholarly works that refl ect these new approaches. “The Berghahn series Studies on War and Genocide has immeasurably enriched the English-language scholarship available to scholars and students of genocide and, in particular, the Holocaust.”—Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions Volume 1 Volume 10 The Massacre in History Exploitation, Resettlement, Mass Murder: Edited by Mark Levene and Penny Roberts Political and Economic Planning for German Occupation Policy in the Soviet Volume 2 National Socialist Extermination Policies: Union, 1940–1941 Alex J. Kay Contemporary German Perspectives and Controversies Volume 11 Edited by Ulrich Herbert Theatres of Violence: The Massacre, Mass Killing and Atrocity in History Volume 3 Edited by Philip G. Dwyer and Lyndall Ryan War of Extermination: The German Military in World War II, 1941/44 Volume 12 Edited by Hannes Heer and Klaus Naumann Empire, Colony, Genocide: Conquest, Occupation, and Subaltern Resistance in Volume 4 In God’s Name: Genocide and Religion in World History Edited by A. Dirk Moses the Twentieth Century Edited by Omer Bartov and Phyllis Mack Volume 13 The Train Journey: Transit, Captivity, and Volume 5 Hitler’s War in the East, 1941–1945 Witnessing in the Holocaust Simone Gigliotti Rolf-Dieter Müller and Gerd R. Ueberschär Volume 14 Volume 6 Genocide and Settler Society: Frontier The “Final Solution” in Riga: Exploitation Violence and Stolen Indigenous Children and Annihilation, 1941–1944 Andrej Angrick and Peter Klein in Australian History Edited by A. Dirk Moses Volume 15 The Kings and the Pawns: Collaboration in Volume 7 Networks of Nazi Persecution: Byelorussia during World War II Leonid Rein Bureaucracy, Business, and the Organization of the Holocaust Volume 16 Edited by Gerald D. Feldman and Reassessing the Nuremberg Military Wolfgang Seibel Tribunals: Transitional Justice, Trial Volume 8 Narratives, and Historiography Gray Zones: Ambiguity and Compromise Edited by Kim C. Priemel and Alexa Stiller in the Holocaust and Volume 17 Its Aftermath The Nazi Genocide of the Roma: Edited by Jonathan Petropoulos and Reassessment and Commemoration John K. Roth Edited by Anton Weiss-Wendt Volume 9 Volume 18 Robbery and Restitution: The Confl ict over Judging “Privileged” Jews: Holocaust Jewish Property in Europe Ethics, Representation, and the “Grey Edited by M. Dean, C. Goschler and P. Ther Zone” Adam Brown This open access library edition is supported by Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale. JUDGING “PRIVILEGED” JEWS Holocaust Ethics, Representation, and the “Grey Zone” Adam Brown berghahn N E W Y O R K • O X F O R D www.berghahnbooks.com This open access library edition is supported by Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale. First published in 2013 by Berghahn Books www.berghahnbooks.com ©2013, 2018 Adam Brown Open access ebook edition published in 2018 All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brown, Adam, author. Judging “privileged” Jews : Holocaust ethics, representation, and the “Grey zone” / Adam Brown. — First edition. pages ; cm. — (Studies on war and genocide) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-85745-991-6 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-78533-656-0 (open access ebook) 1. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945)—Moral and ethical aspects. 2. World War, 1939–1945—Collaborationists—Moral and ethical aspects. 3. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945)—Infl uence. 4. Levi, Primo—Criticism and interpretation. I. Title. D804.7.M67.B76 2013 940.53'18—dc23 2012037875 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978–0-85745–991–6 (hardback) ISBN 978-1-78533-656-0 (open access ebook) Cover photo: “Ruins of Crematorium in Auschwitz-Birkenau” © Graham Brown An electronic version of this book is freely available tanks to the support of librar- ies working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access for the public good. More information about the initiative and links to the Open Access version can be found at knowled- geunlatched.org This work is published subject to a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial No Derivatives 4.0 International license. The terms of the license can be found at https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. For uses beyond those covered in the license contact Berghahn Books. For Phillip Maisel, Holocaust survivor and dear friend This open access library edition is supported by Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale. This open access library edition is supported by Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale. CONTENTS R List of Illustrations viii Acknowledgments ix Introduction “Privileged” Jews, Holocaust Representation, and the “Limit” of Judgment 1 Chapter 1 La “Zona Grigia”: The Paradox of Judgment in Primo Levi’s “Grey Zone” 42 Chapter 2 The Judgment of “Privileged” Jews in the Work of Raul Hilberg 76 Chapter 3 Bridging History and Cinema: “Privileged” Jews in Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah and Other Holocaust Documentaries 109 Chapter 4 Portraying “Privileged” Jews in Fiction Films: The Potential to Suspend Judgment? 149 Conclusion “And What Would You Have Done?” Negotiating the Paradoxical Bind 195 Bibliography 204 Index 219 This open access library edition is supported by Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale. ILLUSTRATIONS R 0.1 The senior offi cer of the Krakow Ghetto police (Ordnungsdienst) straightens the cap of one of his men during roll call. 8 0.2 A member of the Jewish police and a German soldier direct pedestrian traffi c across the main street dividing the two parts of the Lodz Ghetto. The sign reads: “Jewish residential area, entrance is forbidden.” 9 0.3 Leon Rozenblat, the controversial chief of the Lodz Ghetto police (left), and other members of the Ordnungsdienst pose with a newlywed couple. 9 0.4 Jewish police escort a group of Jews in the Lodz Ghetto who have been rounded up for deportation. 10 0.5 Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto board a train for deportation with the assistance of Jewish police. 11 0.6 A group portrait of members of the Warsaw Ghetto Jewish police. 19 1.1 Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, head of the Jewish Council in the Lodz Ghetto, and other offi cials pose for a group portrait underneath a banner and a large portrait of Rumkowski. 62 1.2 Rumkowski leaves the site of a public demonstration in the Lodz Ghetto after delivering a speech to calm the people’s fear and anger about food provisioning in the ghetto. Also pictured are Leon Rozenblat (walking with Rumkowski) and Shmuel Eizmann (the Jewish leader’s bodyguard, behind Rumkowski, to the right). 65 1.3 Rumkowski in conversation with Hans Biebow, head of the Gettoverwaltung [German ghetto administration]. 67 This open access library edition is supported by Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS R Words cannot express the depth of my gratitude to the many people—col- leagues, mentors, family, and friends—who have helped bring this book to fruition. My special thanks go to Pam Maclean, David McCooey, and Keith Beattie for all their interest, encouragement, insights, and advice. I must also express my deep appreciation for the help and hospitality of the survivors and volunteers at the Jewish Holocaust Centre in Mel- bourne, particularly Phillip Maisel, Lena Fiszman, and Warren Fine- berg. Another lifelong friend I have been blessed with fi nding through the writing of this book is the indefatigable Mirna Cicioni, whose pas- sion for Primo Levi is rivaled only by her amazing generosity, of which I am an undeserving benefi ciary. Heartfelt thanks are owed to Graeme Kinross-Smith, Heather Hallam, and Tess Mahar, whose support over the years has been invaluable. Tony Chalkley, Toija Cinque, and many others—far too many to name—ensured that my engagement with this somber topic did not entirely distract me from the lighter side of things. Special thanks are also due to wider circles of family and friends—thank you for your patience; you will now see me more often. My sincere grati- tude goes also to Marion Berghahn, Ann Przyzycki DeVita, Elizabeth Berg, Lauren Weiss, Melissa Spinelli, Adam Capitanio, and all other editors and reviewers—known and unknown—who contributed to this book at various stages. I am indebted to my parents, Vicki and Graham, for the opportuni- ties they have constantly made possible, at great sacrifi ce. Everything I do must bear my gratitude to them. Likewise, my brother Luke’s con- sistent late night/early morning phone calls and my sister Abbie’s all- too-transparent and equally comforting sarcasm have continually kept This open access library edition is supported by Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale. x Acknowledgments my feet planted fi rmly on the ground. To have parents and siblings as I have defi nes that which is truly humbling. And to Deb: your tolerance, support, and far superior knowledge of the English language have been invaluable and hardly something I could ever hope to equal. I love you very much.