Invoking the “Yolocaust”?: German Memory Politics, Cultural Criticism, and Contemporary Popular Arts

The present study understands comedy in relation to the Holocaust as an attempt by Germany’s third and fourth generations to create alternative forms of commemoration. Analyzing the country’s history of coming to terms with the Shoah, it highlights that recent forms of subversive satire are reacting...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:German politics and society 2021-12, Vol.39 (4 (135)), p.92-111
Main Author: Buchenhorst, Ralph
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Collective memory
Comedy
Commemoration
Communications industry
Critical theory
Discourse
Guilt
Holocaust
Mass media
Political aspects
Political correctness
Politics
Popular culture
Popular culture in mass media
Portrayals
Victimization
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Summary:The present study understands comedy in relation to the Holocaust as an attempt by Germany’s third and fourth generations to create alternative forms of commemoration. Analyzing the country’s history of coming to terms with the Shoah, it highlights that recent forms of subversive satire are reacting to a crystallization in official memory politics through counter-discourse to political correctness and the defenders of moralism. The article finds that it is possible to combine comedy and Holocaust memory if Jewish victimhood is not spoofed and the limitations of official memory politics are debunked. Finally, it contends that not every historical assessment based on a local/national context can serve as a global blueprint. The recognition of national historical guilt and the establishment of distinct collective memories are still crucial for understanding specific pasts. Accordingly, German popular culture referring to the Nazi past differs from U.S. comedy dealing with the Holocaust.
ISSN:1045-0300
1558-5441
DOI:10.3167/gps.2021.390406