‘Remembering for Us’: The Transgenerational Transmission of Holocaust Memory and Commemoration

Abstract

Commemoration has moved from the periphery to the centre of Australian Jewish consciousness, a trend that is also discernable amongst Jewish communities. Over the past six decades the voice of the Holocaust survivor has become increasingly audible, and has been instrumental in establishing a public memory of the Holocaust in Australia. Today, survivors are at the forefront of the commemorative activities and their individual stories, representing a myriad of different experiences, are central to Holocaust education. At present the issue that confronts the Sydney Jewish community is no different from the questions facing other communities. How is memory of the Holocaust to be kept alive and vibrant as survivors’ voices begin to recede and as the past passes from ‘living memory to history’? This article is based on group interviews conducted with Holocaust survivors living in Sydney, Australia and explores how these Holocaust survivors would like the Holocaust to be remembered in the future. From the discussion groups it was clear that most of these survivors are unsure if the next generation possesses the inclination and ability not only to remember the Holocaust, but to remember it well. There was a clear sentiment amongst all the groups that one of the only ways the memory of the Holocaust can survive is by being cast as a religious act, duty and obligation, to be codified in the Jewish religious calendar.