The Memory of the Holocaust in Australia

Overview

This collection of essays considers the development of Holocaust memory in Australia since 1945. Bringing together the work of younger and more established scholars, the volume examines Holocaust memory in a variety of local and national contexts from both inside and outside of Australia's Jewish communities. The articles presented here emanate from a variety of different disciplinary perspectives, from history through literary, cultural and museum studies. This collection considers both the general development of Holocaust memory, engaging historically with particular moments when the Shoah punctuated public perceptions of the recent past, as well as its representation and memorialisation in contemporary Australia. A detailed introduction discusses the relationship between the Australian case and the general development of Holocaust memory in the Western world, asking whether we need to revise the assumptions of what have become the rather staid narratives of the journey of the Shoah into public consciousness.