The Centre for Jewish Studies
University of Manchester
Extra-Mural Lectures 1998-99
For the full list of lectures, click here
Nov 16th: Alan Unterman:
Is it time for Jews to put the Holocaust behind them?
Abstract:
The shadows of Nazi genocide recede into the past yet, like the natural
shadows of the day, they lengthen towards evening. As survivors grow older
childhood memories become more distinct, so the horrors of the Holocaust
engulf their thoughts. While the number of actual Holocaust survivors is
diminishing, however, the number of those who feel a need to respond to
the Holocaust seems actually to be growing. Many Jews, and some non-Jews,
seem to be gripped by a collective Holocaust obsession.
The Jewish psyche is perhaps only just beginning to come to terms with
the Holocaust trauma and one cannot expect a balanced response to attempted
genocide. Belief in the uniqueness of the Holocaust for some Jews is almost
a matter of faith, and those who deny the uniqueness of the Holocaust are
regarded as heretics or traitors to Jewish peoplehood, since denying uniqueness
can seem only one step away from denying the Holocaust itself.
If the Holocaust was not unique then the death of millions of Jewish
individuals is on a par with other tragedies of war and persecution, where
the victims were both Jews and countless non-Jews. There is an obvious
temptation, therefore, to continue to emphasize the suffering and death
of Jews under Hitler and the uniqueness of the Holocaust. This may, however,
have reached a point of diminishing returns. Despite all the positive elements
in 'Never Again' and 'Never Forget', such over-emphasis provides a merely
negative basis for Jewish life, and can act as an obstacle to rebuilding
Jewish consciousness in a post-Holocaust world.
Mourning more than is mandated can affect one's faith in the goodness
of God as well as one's faith in the goodness of men, Jews and Gentiles
alike.
----
Dr. Alan Unterman is Minister of the Yeshurun Synagogue and part-time
Lecturer in Comparative Religion. His major publications include Wisdom
in the Jewish Mystics (1971); Jews: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices
(1976/1996); Judaism and Art (1980).
The Centre for Jewish Studies
The Department of Religions and Theology
University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester M13 9PL
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)161 275 3614; Fax +44 (0)161 275 3613
e-mail: Bernard.Jackson@man.ac.uk