Description

This volume contains a collection of essays examining the Holocaust from the perspective of gender. The book is divided into seven sections, each focusing on a different aspect of the discourse between gender and identity. Following a historical introduction delineating the basic framework for understanding women's experiences during and shortly after the Holocaust, the book explores the major research trends evincing themselves since the end of World War II. The topics examined include various aspects of women's experiences during the war years, such as leadership, martyrdom, and social interaction in times of crisis. Other essays illuminate Holocaust heroism through a gender sensitive approach, while an additional section, Postwar Life and Representation, focuses upon gender in a multicultural post-Holocaust society. The book's final section explores the historical/didactic aspect of Holocaust gender study by examining how The Diary of Anne Frank can be used as an educational tool. Here we see how Holocaust gender issues transcend the socio-historical framework in order to become part of the cultural heritage transferred down to later generations. The book concludes with an epilogue and an extensive multi-lingual bibliography of sources and studies dealing with various gender-related aspects of the Holocaust. Several of the essays originally appeared in historical journals or conference proceedings and have been updated and expanded for inclusion in this present volume.