tomasz cebulski-memory of the holocaust in israel.pdf

8/17/2019 Tomasz Cebulski-Memory of the Holocaust in Israel.pdf

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MEMORY OF THE HOLOCAUST AND THE SHAPING OF JEWISH IDENTITY IN

ISRAEL

Tomasz Cebulski

Jagiellonian University, Kraków

This paper examines the general trends and turning points in the construction o Jewish

memory and identity in !srael as inluenced by and based on the events o the "olocaust# The

chapter will show the importance, as a actor in identity ormation, o the slow and gradual

evolution rom the oten re$ected traumatic post%"olocaust memory, through the process o

the social internalization and integration o this memory, to the current institutionalized

memory# This process in !srael is connected with generation change rom the irst generation

o eyewitnesses o the "olocaust, through the second generation o new &ionist citizens, to

the third and ourth generations looking or its identity in the globalized world#

This paper is rooted in political science and will try to determine 'a( how memory o past

events is represented by and inluences the contemporary political and social lie o ademocratic country) 'b( the role o remembrance in achieving social and political goals) and

'c( who is responsible or the shape o memory in the society# These are particularly

important *uestions at a time when historical relativity and revisionism are used as tools in

international relations, and when gradual globalization provokes conrontation with

memories# This topic is important or +oland as a country which, only beginning in the last

decade o the twentieth century, entered onto a path o social dialogue and bilateral relations

with !srael# Those relations are still strongly emotional because o the historical and

stereotypical burden involved# Understanding each partners collective memory and identity

and conronting it with our own mental images seems to be the only path o uture dialogue#

-tudy o memory and identity building in !srael can also help +oland to deal with its own past

and images#

.emory and identity are integral to how modern democracies inluence state politics and

social lie# / course, we can easily claim and prove the opposite, namely that state politics

and social lie are integral parts o memory and identity# These notions, regardless their

broader or narrower meaning, are always inseparably connected, each o them the necessary

condition and unction o the other# Their internal relation is so strong that in many cases it is

hard to decide which o them is primary and which is secondary# /nly in relation to individual

political and social acts can we say that memory 0comes1 later, so is thereore secondary# /n

more general grounds, however, we notice that political decision making and social lie are

inluenced by memory o past decisions and events# 2evertheless, or the purpose o thisarticle, we need to stress the basic dierence between memory and identity versus state

politics and social lie# .emory and identity are intangible and imagined notions, created and

shared by some larger group o population, while state politics and social lie are very

tangible because they are built on social and political acts# The intangibility o memory and

identity does not make those two abstract# /n the contrary % they always tend to be

inseparable rom time, place, actual events and people, who provide speciic meanings# 3y

this means we can see in state history two parallel realities, one actual and the other

imagined, developed in parallel and inluencing one another '"albwachs 4556, les 7o 4556,

8nderson 4559(#

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/ne must also distinguish between memory and identity, but also understand the interactions

o the two# .emory takes dierent orms, depending on who is inluencing and who is

sharing it# !t can be personal, private, or amily, but can also belong to larger cultural groups,

tribes, or whole societies# There is always some anthropological, political, or social context in

which memory is created and shared# The private or group preerences allow, and sometimes

enorce the changes, omissions and interpretations which serve some current purpose, or are

sometimes implemented without visible aim# The memory is altered according to currentneeds 'Thelen, 45:5(#

!n his research, .aurice "albwachs uses the term 0collective memory,1 a very useul

construct or the purpose o this article# !n his opinion, collective memory has nothing in

common with historical acts shared by some community) rather, it stands in opposition to

history# !n order to have a proper historical understanding, one needs to notice the whole

complexity, take dierent perspectives and accept ambiguities# This does not happen with

collective memory, which tends to simpliy events, takes one biased perspective and does not

tolerate ambiguities# Collective memory does not recognize chronology and time) it

interpolates events, and is created to $ustiy the oundations o group or social status#

8ccording to "albwachs '4556(, collective memory is the reconstruction o the past with thedata and acts rom the present time) it is based on stories and documents provided by eye

witnesses, as processed later by historians# "albwachs makes a distinction between social

memory and historical memory# -ocial memory is the memory o personally witnessed

events, it is a orm o group experience which is remembered# Taking the "olocaust into

account, social memory is reserved or the generation o survivors only# /n the other hand,

historical memory is the processed and shared historical creation presented in secondary

descriptions, books, ilms and the educational system# "istorical memory reers to and is

shared by the ma$ority o Jews in !srael because they were born ater the "olocaust#

!n this process o combining past and present and looking or some continuity o events,

historiography casts elements o national identity# 3ut social and historical memory represent

only part o the phenomenon o national identity# 2ational identity is an amalgam o

collective memories, symbols, myths and pre$udices connected with the past, present and

uture o a nation# !t contains the particular nation characteristics such as; its genealogy, past,

tradition, victories and deeats, heroes, and even current potential and uture plans# !dentity, a

deeply emotional notion, can easily generate patriotic or even nationalistic eelings# !dentity

and its elements are rarely criticized and revised because this could shake the oundations o

the social and political system '8nderson 4559, -ztompka 6


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modern !sraeli experience# "eroism, militaristic society, and .iddle =ast conlict are the new

identity actors that have emerged# The only exemptions to this process are memories o the

"olocaust and =uropean anti%-emitism, which both reside in the state oundations# Their role

in collective memory and identity remains vivid, growing continuously by gaining new orms

and representations# This is explainable in case o anti%-emitism, which cannot be treated as a

strictly historical phenomenon because it is still present in modern societies# >e cannot talk

about the "olocaust as a present phenomenon, but only as a revived memory# The importanceo this memory, as evidenced by !srael?s attempt to stress its uni*ue Jewish character, is

shown in the change in terminology rom @"olocaust@ to @-hoa#@ !n recent years many

research institutions and museum responsible or the presentation o history and memory,

such as Aad Bashem and the United -tates "olocaust .emorial, have broadened the

deinition o the "olocaust# Thus, the "olocaust is no longer perceived as only a uni*uely

Jewish experience# .ore and more pro$ects are presenting the reality o the "olocaust in

modern times# Those pro$ects ocus on exposing the common pattern o perpetrators and

victims, not only o the 2azi "olocaust, but also o other societies, such as arur, 3osnia and

Dwanda, where genocide and other crimes against humanity have also occurred

The ma$ority o prime actors crucial to !sraeli identity can be ound in the @eclaration o the=stablishment o the -tate o !srael,@ later repeated in the basic legal code# !n the eclaration

o .ay 4Eth, 45E:, we read;

The catastrophe which recently beell the Jewish people % the massacre o millions o

Jews in =urope % was another clear demonstration o the urgency o solving the

problem o its homelessness by re%establishing in =retz%!srael the Jewish -tate, which

would open the gates o the homeland wide to every Jew and coner upon the Jewish

people the status o a ully privileged member o the comity o nations#

-urvivors o the 2azi holocaust in =urope, as well as Jews rom other parts o the

world, continued to migrate to =retz%!srael, undaunted by diiculties, restrictions and

dangers, and never ceased to assert their right to a lie o dignity, reedom and honest

toil in their national homeland#

!n the -econd >orld >ar, the Jewish community o this country contributed its ull

share to the struggle o the reedom% and peace%loving nations against the orces o

2azi wickedness and, by the blood o its soldiers and its war eort, gained the right to

be reckoned among the peoples who ounded the United 2ations#

The above document clearly indicates that the establishment o a state was a conse*uence o

the "olocaust and that the state grew out o the necessity to protect world Jewry and tocounteract any uture genocide# The "olocaust, provoking strong moral trauma or the whole

humanity, stimulated the world leaders to establish the -tate o !srael '-egev 6


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FIRST GENERATION

!n the second hal o 45EH around 5


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The ma$ority o survivors were sent to kibutzes, where they had to take "ebrew names and

learn to operate within the rames o a totally new &ionist identity# Those irst years only

exacerbated the "olocaust trauma in the minds o individual survivors, deprived o

proessional help and let alone to deal with this chapter o their lives# !n the oicial political

discourse, the survivors were reerred to as people who need to be 0re%educated1) they had to

learn to love their new country and integrate the moral values o !sraeli society# .emory o

the "olocaust was socially rozen '-egev 6


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boycott o 7ermany had to be eased when trade possibilities avorable or !srael appeared and

the vision o reparations and compensations became very attractive# !n the emotional political

battles o that time we can see the conlict between religion, culture and memory o the

"olocaust on one side and the new elements o !sraeli identity ocusing on state development

and the needs o uture generations, on the other# # 8t this point o its development, !srael

was much more directed towards the uture, which is why &ionist negotiations with 7ermany

were successul, leading to establishment o bilateral relations and payment o reparations# /nthis occasion dierent political parties in !srael noticed the potential in memory o the

"olocaust# .enahem 3egin and his "erut party pictured themselves as deenders o the

national dignity and "olocaust memory by standing in strong opposition to 3en%7urion and

his negotiations# 3ut society was not ready to deend memory yet, because it was still shared

only by the survivors, and thereore had limited social impact#

THE EICHMANN TRIAL

The beginning o the 45F


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uture control o the "olocaust legacy and its memory or his .apai party# The leading .apai

party also had a ew social aims to be achieved through the =ichmann trial# The irst was to

integrate the "olocaust experience into the next generations o !sraelis, who were brought up

in the atmosphere o silence about -hoa# / course this education had to be careully

prepared) acts had to be chosen and presented or the needs o !sraeli society in a way that

would not threaten or destroy the image o heroism promoted rom the beginning o the state?s

creation# .emory o the "olocaust had to be reconciled with &ionist ideology, still strong inthe society, in order to archive the desired eect o national uniication around the commonly

shared memory o the "olocaust# !n the beginning o the 45Far, yet this did not integrate them into the new society# =ven ater the war

was won, the division o the !sraeli army into heroic -abras and passive =uropean Jews was

preserved 'Aablonka 6


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when 2asser was spreading propaganda about 8merican ships evacuating Jews rom !srael

and promising a total destruction o the country, the mental connection to the "olocaust was

inescapable# The Deligious Council o Tel 8viv surveyed the citys parks, sport ields and

empty plots and sanctiied them as cemeteries '-egev 6est

3ank, =ast Jerusalem, and the 7olan "eights# -ociety was gradually becoming aware o theenormous victory and the meaning o !srael returning to the /ld City in Jerusalem and to the

>estern >all# The spirit o ight and the inal victory were attributed to the "olocaust

memory as well# Uri Damon, a young oicer, said in this regard;

1Two days beore, when we elt that we were at the decisive moment and ! was in

uniorm, armed and grimy or a night patrol, ! came to the 7hetto ighters .useum at

Kibbutz Iohamei "agetaot# ! wanted to pay my respects to the memory o the ighters,

only some o whom had reached this day when the nation was rising up to deend

itsel# ! elt clearly that our war began there, in the crematoriums, in the camps, in the

ghettos and in the orests# ! have let this museum pure and clear and strong or this

war#1'Damon 45F5, p# H9(#

The social eeling was that inally the time had come when others were now suering loss,

the problem o constant ear and endangerment solved once and orever# The !sraelis proved

to themselves and others that they were no longer 0sheep led to slaughter#1 2ow, they had a

country and nation able to ace any enemy# That was also the moment when !sraeli militarism

was mythologized, because the society elt itsel closer to the heroic deenders o the >arsaw

7hetto than to the victims o the death camps# >ith this victory a new *uestion arose; whether

the !sraeli army, cherishing the legacy o the "olocaust, could now serve as an occupation

orce in the new territories#

The euphoria didn?t last long, because the Aom Kippur >ar o 459G once again brought the

phantom o the "olocaust beore everyone?s eyes# This time the element o surprise was used

by the 8rab armies# !n the -inai Campaign in 45HF, the ear o destruction came $ust beore

victory and led to the !sraeli 8rmy withdrawal# uring the -ix%ay >ar, ear was present

beore the war and provided the stimulus that led to victory# !n 459G ear came in the middle

o the campaign, and it shook the very oundations o the country# The war was inally won,

but at the price o 6,Har# !srael needed inancial support not

only rom the iaspora, but also rom the international community#

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8ter 459G, .enachem 3egin was elected prime minister# rom the very beginning o his

political career, he was promoted as a ighter or "olocaust memory and its representation in

society# !ndeed, he oten presented himsel as a survivor o the "olocaust# This was

important, because or this group the "olocaust was not a personal experience, so they oten

accused the 8shkenazi establishment o misusing the "olocaust and its memory or political

purposes#

The next military conlict, the invasion o Iebanon in 45:6, once again inspired political and

social comparisons to the "olocaust# 3eore the invasion, 3egin addressed the members o his

cabinet;

0Aou know what ! have done and what we have all done to prevent war and loss o

lie# 3ut such is our ate in !srael# There is no way other then to ight sellessly#

3elieve me, the alternative is Treblinka, and we have decided that there will be no

more Treblinkas1 '2oar 45:F, p# E9(#

>hen !srael was criticized in international circles, especially or massacres which werecarried out with the knowledge o !sraeli eense orces in two +alestinian reugee camps,

-abra and -hatila, 3egin kept repeating that ater the "olocaust nobody in the world had the

right to teach moral lessons to !srael#

-uch misuse o "olocaust memory by the government evoked almost immediate social

discussion, led mainly by the let%wing supporters# !n the beginning o the 45:


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'94(# This is very visible in the !sraeli approach to "olocaust memory# 2owadays the key role

in the process o shaping and preserving this memory is played by specialized museum

institutions and monuments, created and erected to research history, educate and promote

memory# This role grows when members o society commemorate events o the past, creating

ob$ective, collective memory, to be shared by everyone#

Those institutions play a crucial role in inter%generational memory transmission# Tounderstand this process it is crucial to make a distinction between primary and secondary

witnesses o the "olocaust# +rimary narratives are based on experienced acts and are

remembered as social memory# -econdary narratives are versions o the primary ones,

reproduced in the process o research, generalization, drawing conclusions and commentaries#

8ll this is a part o the historical memory o society# "irsch deines historical memory and its

images as 0postmemory1;

0+ostmemory is distinguished rom memory by generational distance and rom history

by deep personal connection# +ostmemory is a powerul and very particular orm o

memory precisely because its connection to its ob$ect or source is mediated not

through recollection but through imaginative investment and creation1 '"irsch 4559, p# 66(#

The task o orging and preserving postmemory o the "olocaust in !srael was given mainly to

Aad Bashem, but also to other commemoration institutions like kibbutzes, Aad .ordecai,

Iohamei "agetaot, and numerous museums and monuments all over the country# 8ll those

institutions with their political ailiations have always tried to inluence social identity in the

country# Bery direct political inluence is visible during numerous commemoration days#

!n order to observe how present !sraeli identity is shaped, we should have a closer look at the

dierent commemoration days and state estivals introduced and shaped by politicians in

!srael# !n 45H4 the Knesset passed a bill about The commemoration day o 0The "olocaust

and the 7hetto Uprising1 'hebr. Jom "a%-zoa we "a%gwura(# /nly in 45H5 was a second bill

passed, mandating how this day should be observed# The name was changed to 0The

Commemoration ay o the "olocaust and "eroism1# This included one day o national

mourning, with oicial political ceremonies at Aad Bashem and sirens at noon## The next bill,

including the needs o the letist lobby or Uprising Commemoration and religious lobby or

more religious character o the day, was passed in 45F4, and remains in orce# The day is now

named 0The Commemoration ay o "olocaust Uprising and "eroism,1 and starts according

to the religious calendar on the evening proceeding the 69th day o 2issan#

3y ollowing the name changes we can observe the political importance o this day# !n theinal version rom 45F4, the single word @"olocaust@ was replaced by two words; @Uprising@

and @"eroism#@ 8 week ater this day, there comes another commemoration day; the Jom "a%

&ikaron in memory o the Jewish soldiers who ell during all o !sraels wars # The sirens

sound once again, and the week between Aom "a%-hoa and Aom "a%&ikaron is designated a

period o mourning and remembrance o "olocaust and heroism#

8ter this time o mourning there comes catharsis represented by two $oyul state estivals

which are; Aom "a%8cmaut '!ndependence ay( celebrated, on the E th day o !yar, $ust one

day ater Aom%"a &ikaron, and on the 6:th day o !yar is the celebration o Jom Jerushalaim

'ay o Jerusalem(# !ndependence ay is the anniversary o 3ritish withdrawal rom +alestine

and proclamation o the -tate o !srael on .ay 4E, 45E:# Today it is celebrated as a $oyul

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estival with still visible elements o &ionist ideas# The ay o Jerusalem commemorates re%

uniication o Jerusalem under !sraeli administration ater the -ix%ay >ar o 45F9#

There is no doubt that the process o shaping social memory in !srael and o orging a

common !sraeli identity has been an important internal policy task o successive governments#

The current aims in the countrys social and internal policy can be achieved by skillul and

conscious collective memory building and bringing to public attention only chosen historicalevents# This deines and realizes the aims o social integrity, eelings o independence, and

historical awareness and constant morale building, crucial or a country in a continuous state

o emergency '+erlmutter 6hat is .ythP#1 =choes o the "olocaust F, '6


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"irsch, .arianne# 0.ourning and +ostmemory1# amily rames, +hotography, 2arrative, and

+ostmemory# =d# .arianne "irsch# Cambridge; "arvard U+, 4559#

"uyssen, 8ndreas# 8ter the 7reat ivide; .odernism, .ass Culture, +ostmodernism#

!ndianapolis; !ndiana U+, 45:F#

Ies 7o J# '4556( 0"istory and .emory, 2ew Aork1 Commemorations; The +olitics o

2ational !dentity. =d# John D# 7illis, +rinceton; +rinceton U+, 4556#

Ievy, aniel# 0The uture o the +ast; "istoriographical isputes and Competing .emories

in 7ermany and !srael#1 "istory and Theory G:#4 '6ar#1 apim Ieheker

Behamered, Collection 8# 45F5#

-egev, Tom# The -eventh .illion; The !sraelis and the "olokaust. 2ew Aork; "olt

+aperbacks, 6


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>eiss, -hewach# 0The impact o the "olocaust on +olitics#1!sraeli .inistry o oreign

8airs# ebruary 6

tomasz cebulski-memory of the holocaust in israel.pdf

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