Holocaust Archaeologies

Holocaust Archaeologies
Author: Caroline Sturdy Colls
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 363
Release: 2015-02-28
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3319106414

Holocaust Archaeologies: Approaches and Future Directions aims to move archaeological research concerning the Holocaust forward through a discussion of the variety of the political, social, ethical and religious issues that surround investigations of this period and by considering how to address them. It considers the various reasons why archaeological investigations may take place and what issues will be brought to bear when fieldwork is suggested. It presents an interdisciplinary methodology in order to demonstrate how archaeology can (uniquely) contribute to the history of this period. Case examples are used throughout the book in order to contextualise prevalent themes and a variety of geographically and typologically diverse sites throughout Europe are discussed. This book challenges many of the widely held perceptions concerning the Holocaust, including the idea that it was solely an Eastern European phenomena centred on Auschwitz and the belief that other sites connected to it were largely destroyed or are well-known. The typologically , temporally and spatial diverse body of physical evidence pertaining to this period is presented and future possibilities for investigation of it are discussed. Finally, the volume concludes by discussing issues relating to the “re-presentation” of the Holocaust and the impact of this on commemoration, heritage management and education. This discussion is a timely one as we enter an age without survivors and questions are raised about how to educate future generations about these events in their absence.

The Archaeology of the Holocaust

The Archaeology of the Holocaust
Author: Richard A. Freund
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2019-04-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1538102676

In the summer of 2016 acclaimed archaeologist Richard Freund and his team made news worldwide when they discovered an escape tunnel from the Ponar burial pits in Lithunia. This Holocaust site where more than 100,000 people perished is usually remembered for the terrible devastation that happened there. In the midst of this devastation, the discovery of an escape tunnel reminds us of the determination and tenacity of the people in the camp and the hope they continued to carry. The Archaeology of the Holocaust takes readers out to the field with Freund and his multi-disciplinary research group as they uncover the evidence of the Holocaust, focusing on sites in Lithuania, Poland, and Greece in the past decade. Using forensic detective work, Freund tells the micro- and macro-histories of sites from the Holocaust as his team covers excavations and geo-physical surveys done at four sites in Poland, four sites in Rhodes, and 15 different sites in Lithuania with comparisons of some of the work done at other sites in Eastern Europe. The book contains testimonies of survivors, photographs, information about a variety of complementary geo-science techniques, and information gleaned from pin-point excavations. It serves as an introduction to the Holocaust and explains aspects of the culture lost in the Holocaust through the lens of archaeology and geo-science.

Digging through History

Digging through History
Author: Richard A Freund
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2023-06-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1442208848

Digging through History follows rabbi and archaeologist Richard Freund's journey through some of the most fascinating archaeological sites of human history—including the mysterious Atlantis, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the long-buried Holocaust camp Sobibor. Each chapter takes readers through a different archaeological site, showing what we can learn about past religious life and religious faith through the artifacts found there, as well as what has given each site such strong "staying power" over time. Richard Freund and the research in Digging through History are featured in the National Geographic documentary Atlantis Rising, which premieres on National Geographic on Sunday, January 29, at 9/8 central. The documentary follows Oscar-winning executive producer James Cameron and Emmy-winning filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici as they investigate the myths and realities of Atlantis. Digging through History is the only book that details Freund’s groundbreaking research on Atlantis that is featured in the f

Digging through History Again

Digging through History Again
Author: Richard A. Freund
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2023-01-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1538136236

Digging through History Again: New Discoveries from Atlantis to the Holocaust follows archaeologist Richard Freund's journey through some of the most fascinating archaeological sites of human history—including the mysterious Atlantis, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, a medieval synagogue in northern Spain and the long-buried Holocaust camp Sobibor and long-neglected sites of the Holocaust. Each chapter takes readers through a different archaeological site, showing what we can learn about past religious life and religious faith through the artifacts found there, as well as what has given each site such strong "staying power" over time. It also highlights the technological developments in geoscience and archaeology of the last 25 years that allows us to uncover more with less time, expense. and labor while observing the sensitivities associated with Jewish traditions. Digging Through History Again further explores just how expansive the lost Atlantis Civilization really is, expands upon information known about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the newly discovered caves where more scrolls will be found, and uncovers new excavations of the death camp of Sobibor, the secrets of the Warsaw Ghetto and escapes from Sobibor, Ponar, and, Fort IX that will help set a standard for future archaeology of the Holocaust. Richard Freund and the research in Digging through History are featured in the National Geographic documentary Atlantis Rising, which premiered on National Geographic in 2017 and a documentary follows Oscar-winning executive producer James Cameron and Emmy-winning filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici as they investigate the myths and realities of Atlantis. The chapter on the “Archaeology of Jewish Resistance during the Holocaust” is also a part of the new television documentary “Resistance: They Fought Back” set to air in 2023. Digging through History is the only book that details Freund’s groundbreaking research on Atlantis and on Jewish resistance during the Holocaust that is featured in the films.

A Shadow of War

A Shadow of War
Author: Claudia Theune
Publisher:
Total Pages: 150
Release: 2017-08-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 9789088904547

This book presents archaeological research from places of war, violence, protest and oppression of the 20th and the 21st century; sites where the material relics give a deep insight to fateful events - a shadow of war. Alongside renewed interest in National Socialism and the Holocaust, archaeological interest started in former concentration camps of the Nazi dictatorship. The focus was on the central places of the camps, such as the gas chambers, the crematoria, or execution sites, as well as prisoners' barracks and the parade ground. In many cases, these sites revealed forgotten and vanished structures, where archaeological excavations can offer the possibility for commemorating the victims. The research has since widened and includes other sites of Nazi dictatorship and the Second World War, as well as the First World War, the Cold War and locations of civil wars and civilian protest against state authorities and against companies and corporations in many parts of the world. In order to come to a comprehensive understanding contemporary archaeology must take a global perspective. Archaeological finds often shed light on daily life, revealing survival conditions in the internment camps; the lives of people and their fighting and dying on battlefields and in trenches. Likewise, the relics of politically active people in protest camps give an impression of their commitment in civilian protest. Sometimes material remains can help to tell an alternative or balancing narrative to the state's official recorded history. The enormous volume and diverse range of material culture presents challenges and opportunities. Through careful archaeological investigation, we can present different and new perspectives that are not recorded clearly in existing written, pictorial or oral archives. The merging and examination of all sources together is what enables us to understand the complexity of the history. This book will also present future directions in contemporary archaeology that will help bring the study focus beyond sites and assemblages of war and protest.

Holocaust Archaeology

Holocaust Archaeology
Author: Caroline Sturdy Colls
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2012
Genre:
ISBN:

The landscapes and material remains of the Holocaust survive in various forms as physical reminders of the suffering and persecution of this period in European history. However, whilst clearly defined historical narratives exist, many of the archaeological remnants of these sites remain ill-defined, unrecorded and even, in some cases, unlocated. Such a situation has arisen as a result of a number of political, social, ethical and religious factors which, coupled with the scale of the crimes, has often inhibited systematic search. This thesis will outline how a non-invasive archaeological methodology has been implemented at two case study sites, with such issues at its core, thus allowing them to be addressed in terms of their scientific and historical value, whilst acknowledging their commemorative and religious significance. In doing so, this thesis also demonstrates how a study of the physical remains of the Holocaust can reveal as much about the ever-changing cultural memory of these events as it can the surviving remnants of camps, execution sites and other features associated with this period. By demonstrating the diversity and complexity of Holocaust landscapes, a case is presented for a sub-discipline of Holocaust Archaeology.

Treblinka

Treblinka
Author: Caroline Sturdy Colls
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 92
Release: 2016-06-24
Genre: Forensic archaeology
ISBN: 9781534632295

Between 800,000 and 1 million people lost their lives at Treblinka extermination camp during the Holocaust. A further 10,000 perished in the nearby labour camp as a result of the Nazi death through work policy and ad hoc executions. Since 2007, both camps have been the subject of forensic archaeological research in order to reveal new insights into the nature and extent of Nazi persecution. This book presents the major findings of the archaeological work, which included the discovery of the gas chambers, personal effects of the victims and mass graves. It also includes artistic responses to these findings, which were commissioned as part of the international exhibition "Finding Treblinka". This exhibition opened at the Museum of Struggle and Martyrdom in Treblinka, Poland in August 2015 and the Wiener Library in London, United Kingdom in June 2016.

The Holocaust and Historical Methodology

The Holocaust and Historical Methodology
Author: Dan Stone
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2012
Genre: History
ISBN: 0857454927

This book is timely and necessary and often extremely challenging. It brings together an impressive cast of scholars, spanning several academic generations. Anyone interested in writing about the Holocaust should read this book and consider the implications of what is written here for their own work. There seems to me little doubt that Holocaust history writing stands at something of a cross roads, and the ways forward that this volume points to are extremely thought provoking. -- Tom Lawson, University of Winchester.

Unsettled

Unsettled
Author: Melvin Konner
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 529
Release: 2004-09-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0142196320

Far reaching, intellectually rich, and passionately written, Unsettled takes the whole history of Western civilization as its canvas and places onto it the Jewish people and faith. With historical insight and vivid storytelling, renowned anthropologist Melvin Konner charts how the Jews endured largely hostile (but at times accepting) cultures to shape the world around them and make their mark throughout history—from the pastoral tribes of the Bronze Age to enslavement in the Roman Empire, from the darkness of the Holocaust to the creation of Israel and the flourishing of Jews in America. With fresh interpretations of the antecedents of today's pressing conflicts, Unsettled is a work whose modern-day reverberations could not be more relevant or timely.

Anxious Histories

Anxious Histories
Author: Jordana Silverstein
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2015-04-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 178238653X

Over the last seventy years, memories and narratives of the Holocaust have played a significant role in constructing Jewish communities. The author explores one field where these narratives are disseminated: Holocaust pedagogy in Jewish schools in Melbourne and New York. Bringing together a diverse range of critical approaches, including memory studies, gender studies, diaspora theory, and settler colonial studies, Anxious Histories complicates the stories being told about the Holocaust in these Jewish schools and their broader communities. It demonstrates that an anxious thread runs throughout these historical narratives, as the pedagogy negotiates feelings of simultaneous belonging and not-belonging in the West and in Zionism. In locating that anxiety, the possibilities and the limitations of narrating histories of the Holocaust are opened up once again for analysis, critique, discussion, and development.