Béatrice Finet: The Holocaust Told to Children, a Literary Education? – A Secondary Publication

Abstract

Béatrice Finet’s work significantly contributes to pedagogical reflection on the formative potentials and limitations of the tripartite encounter of narration, fiction, and history through historical fiction on the Holocaust. In her previous writings, Finet emphasized the importance of avoiding strictly utilitarian readings, instead advocating for a nuanced understanding of events through the reading process. Expectations were high for her recent work, which largely met them. In this book, Finet focuses on describing and analyzing a youth-oriented work on the Holocaust, a significant historical event mandated in primary school curricula since 2002, to illuminate the educational implications it raises. While primarily aimed at educators, the book will undoubtedly interest anyone interested in children’s literature or Holocaust history. Finet presents a diverse corpus of works, such as Les Arbres Pleurent Aussi or Otto. Autobiographie d’un Ours en Peluche, which, despite their educational value, can personally appeal to both young and adult literature enthusiasts. The title, posed a question, La Shoah Racontée Aux Enfants, Une Éducation Littéraire? immediately prompts reflection on how literary reading of children’s literature can lead young readers to critically engage with literature, better understand and interpret its revelations, and consider what it may omit. This title also suggests that the Holocaust story is being told to children, prompting the potential benefit of adult mediation to guide them toward literary education.