Rethinking Holocaust Film Reception

Stefanie Rauch is research associate at the Institute of Advanced Studies at University College London.

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsChapter 1 Holocaust Film Reception: A Microstudy from BritainChapter 2 Encountering the Holocaust in BritainChapter 3 True Stories: Conspiracy, The Grey Zone, and DefianceChapter 4 Fiction: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The ReaderChapter 5 Engaging with Films: Holocaust Film as GenreChapter 6 Ambiguous Narratives: British Perspectives on Perpetrators and VictimsChapter 7 Universal Discourses and National NarrativesChapter 8 Rethinking Holocaust Film Reception: History, Film and MemoryBibliographyAbout the Author

Film has been a critical dynamo in the formation of cultural memories of the Holocaust over the past generation. Yet for too long the impact of these works has been presumed or speculated. This innovative book provides a much-needed exploration of the complex ways in which Holocaust films and their viewers intersect and interact. Skilfully employing tools from social and cultural studies, Rauch demonstrates how ‘a grounded theory of Holocaust film reception’ brings new insights and lines of enquiry. As much as Rethinking Holocaust Film Reception enriches our understanding of Holocaust memory in Britain, it forwards a template with broader applicability - opening up fronts for similar research elsewhere and posing new questions about the interplay between memory, education, and representation.