Abstract
The media are playing an increasingly important role in teaching the public about the history of the Holocaust. In Germany, however, Holocaust documentaries have been criticized for eliciting unintended, adverse reactions among the viewers, such as distancing from the victims or calling for closing the books on the past. This criticism stems from the concern that such reactions pose an obstacle to critical-constructive engagement and coming to terms with history. This study examines the interplay between cinematic representation of the Holocaust, film-induced defensive strategies, and group-based emotions of shame. Based on a content analysis of six different film excerpts, we investigated the mediating effects of four defensiveness strategies (distancing from victims, victim blaming, closeness to perpetrators, and rejection of the relevance of the Holocaust) on group-based shame in a sample of 224 pupils from Germany’s third post-war generation in a quasi-experimental field study. The results reveal the complexity of film-portrayals which can foster as well as hinder group-based shame and thus, a constructive dealing with past injustice.
Highlights
The media are playing an increasingly important role in teaching the public about the history of the Holocaust
The link between different strategies to deal with their nation’s history and group-based shame among Germans was examined by Dresler-Hawke and Liu (2006), who interpreted the occurrence of this emotion as a form of identity positioning. These findings suggest that group membership and identity are the basic preconditions for the appearance of group-based emotions in general, and the ways in which media engagement with Holocaust exerts influence among contemporary Germans in particular
In line with the criticism mentioned above, we argue that the use of defensiveness strategies is contingent on film contents and a film-initiated process
Summary
Die Ergebnisse beschreiben die Komplexität von Filmdarstellungen des Holocausts und legen dar, wie diese eine konstruktive Auseinandersetzung mit Geschichte hemmen, aber auch unterstützen können. Of particular interest are the effects of these cinematic testimonials on the third post-war generation in Germany, as they represent a significant source of information about the history of their country For this generation, it is essential to adapt a constructive and critical way to deal with their country’s past during the Holocaust—that is, by accepting rather than neglecting, dismissing or downplaying the past crimes against Jews. Both the lack of certain emotions—such as group-based shame and associated prosocial consequences (Brown & Cehajic, 2008; Brown et al, 2008; Dresler-Hawke & Liu, 2006)—and dysfunctional defense strategies may be opposed to this learning outcome
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