Omer Bartov
Brown University, History, Faculty Member
To the Organizers of the Symposium “The Holocaust in Ukraine. New Perspectives on the Evils of the 20th Century,” Paris, March 9-11, 2017: We are concerned about the fact that Volodymyr Viatrovych, Director of the Ukrainian Institute of... more
To the Organizers of the Symposium “The Holocaust in Ukraine. New Perspectives on the Evils of the 20th Century,” Paris, March 9-11, 2017:
We are concerned about the fact that Volodymyr Viatrovych, Director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, will be speaking at the symposium “The Holocaust in Ukraine. New Perspectives on the Evils of the 20th Century” on March 9-11, 2017. It is well documented that his publications do not correspond to international academic standards and serve to support a nationalist agenda. He was also instrumental in the drafting of laws which have been widely criticized in the international academic community for their clear potential to stifle open debate about the history of Ukrainian nationalism, especially during World War Two. We understand the need for controversial and free discussion, but we also think that inviting Volodymyr Viatrovych to speak on this topic at your conference in effect risks normalizing and legitimizing politicized attempts to downplay the antisemitic ideas and actions of World War Two Ukrainian nationalists.
We are concerned about the fact that Volodymyr Viatrovych, Director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, will be speaking at the symposium “The Holocaust in Ukraine. New Perspectives on the Evils of the 20th Century” on March 9-11, 2017. It is well documented that his publications do not correspond to international academic standards and serve to support a nationalist agenda. He was also instrumental in the drafting of laws which have been widely criticized in the international academic community for their clear potential to stifle open debate about the history of Ukrainian nationalism, especially during World War Two. We understand the need for controversial and free discussion, but we also think that inviting Volodymyr Viatrovych to speak on this topic at your conference in effect risks normalizing and legitimizing politicized attempts to downplay the antisemitic ideas and actions of World War Two Ukrainian nationalists.
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For the last few years scholars have increasingly turned their gaze to the potential of applying the new perspectives offered by environmental studies to research on the Holocaust, its origins, and...
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... Was all the ink spilled on millions upon millions of propaganda sheets wasted ... It owns the unlimited confidence in our cause and the firm belief in Germany, in the German people and ... we are filled with the responsibility to God... more
... Was all the ink spilled on millions upon millions of propaganda sheets wasted ... It owns the unlimited confidence in our cause and the firm belief in Germany, in the German people and ... we are filled with the responsibility to God to defend the land which had been given us, to save ...
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... Sorbonne. Two years later, his doctoral dissertation was published in France under the title Russian Peasants and Soviet Power.1 With this publica-tion, the 45-year-old Misha began a brilliant academic career. After serving ...
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... THE DISCOURSE ON ENEMIES AND VICTIMS, its effects on our conduct in and perceptions of war and genocide, and the extent to ... in defining national and individual identities, it has retained a persistently pernicious potential that... more
... THE DISCOURSE ON ENEMIES AND VICTIMS, its effects on our conduct in and perceptions of war and genocide, and the extent to ... in defining national and individual identities, it has retained a persistently pernicious potential that has often led to obfuscation, repression, and ...
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For the last few years scholars have increasingly turned their gaze to the potential of applying the new perspectives offered by environmental studies to research on the Holocaust, its origins, and...
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Perhaps the one thing that all the books reviewed here have in common, apart from their preoccupation with the Holocaust, is that they fill the reader with an almost unbearable sense of despair and helplessness regarding not only the past... more
Perhaps the one thing that all the books reviewed here have in common, apart from their preoccupation with the Holocaust, is that they fill the reader with an almost unbearable sense of despair and helplessness regarding not only the past but also the present. It is, in the true sense, a tale that signifies nothing. Indeed, it is precisely the meaninglessness of the event, made all the clearer now with the benefit of hindsight, the utter uselessness of it all, the total and complete emptiness in which this hell on earth unfolded, that leaves us breathless, bereft of the power of thought and imagination. And what is especially frightening is the impossibility of learning anything from the Holocaust, of drawing any lessons, of putting its facts to any use. Seen from this perspective, questions such as "could it happen again?" or "was the Holocaust unique?" appear irrelevant. Humanity has brought upon itself so much meaningless, useless, utterly idiotic suffering ov...
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The war against the Soviet Union was described by the leaders of the Third Reich as a ‘Weltanschauungskrieg’, that is, a war of ideologies. In seeking the causes for the barbarisation of German troops on the Eastern Front it is therefore... more
The war against the Soviet Union was described by the leaders of the Third Reich as a ‘Weltanschauungskrieg’, that is, a war of ideologies. In seeking the causes for the barbarisation of German troops on the Eastern Front it is therefore essential to examine the role played by political indoctrination among the combat elements of the army during the war. To what extent did National Socialist ideology motivate the individual soldier both in fighting the Red Army and in carrying out acts of brutality against POWs, partisans and civilians? Was there an essential difference between the war in the East and other fronts or other wars? In short, was this also an ideological, almost religious war from the point of view of the individuals at the front, and can this be seen as one of the major factors contributing to its ferocity and brutality?
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העיירה בוצ'ץ' (Buczacz; Buchach), כיום במערב אוקראינה, הייתה נתונה במרוצת ההיסטוריה תחת שלטונן של ממלכות שונות (פולין, אוסטריה) ותושביה היוו פסיפס של תרבויות, לשונות ודתות. מן המאה השש-עשרה הייתה בה אוכלוסייה יהודית גדולה למדי. על... more
העיירה בוצ'ץ' (Buczacz; Buchach), כיום במערב אוקראינה, הייתה נתונה במרוצת ההיסטוריה תחת שלטונן של ממלכות שונות (פולין, אוסטריה) ותושביה היוו פסיפס של תרבויות, לשונות ודתות. מן המאה השש-עשרה הייתה בה אוכלוסייה יהודית גדולה למדי. על סמך עדויות כתובות ומוקלטות, וכן ראיונות שערך בעצמו, משחזר עמר ברטוב את היחסים בין היהודים לשכניהם האוקראינים והפולנים בזמן הכיבוש הגרמני בימי מלחמת העולם השנייה. מן הזיכרונות של מי ששרדו עולה, כי רבים מהם ניצלו הודות לסיוע שקיבלו משכניהם, אך לצד פעולות הצלה, היו מקרים רבים מאוד של הלשנה, הסגרה, ביזה ואף רצח בידי אותם שכנים, משתפי-פעולה ו"ציידי יהודים" מקרב האוכלוסייה המקומית.
במסע ברחבי גליציה, כיום מחוז באוקראינה (שקיבלה עצמאות בשנת 1991), חושף עמר ברטוב את האופן שבו נמחקה ההיסטוריה היהודית מן האתרים ומן הזיכרון הקולקטיבי של האוכלוסייה. באזור זה, שבו הייתה אוכלוסייה יהודית גדולה מאוד לפני מלחמת העולם השנייה,... more
במסע ברחבי גליציה, כיום מחוז באוקראינה (שקיבלה עצמאות בשנת 1991), חושף עמר ברטוב את האופן שבו נמחקה ההיסטוריה היהודית מן האתרים ומן הזיכרון הקולקטיבי של האוכלוסייה. באזור זה, שבו הייתה אוכלוסייה יהודית גדולה מאוד לפני מלחמת העולם השנייה, ובה נולדו וגדלו יוצרים יהודים חשובים כש"י עגנון, מאוריצי גוטליב וברונו שולץ, קשה למצוא היום שריד וזכר לעבר היהודי או להשמדת היהודים על-ידי הנאצים ומשתפי פעולה מקומיים. לאומנות אוקראינית היא המניע העיקרי למחיקת העבר הרב-אתני בערים ובעיירות בגליציה, לגילויי אנטישמיות, להדגשת המאבק האוקראיני נגד הסובייטים ולהסתרת מעשי הטבח ביהודים.
... 17. On the controversy, see now Omer Bartov, Atina Grossmann, and Mary Nolan, eds., The Crimes of War: Guilt and Denial in the Twentieth Century (New York: New Press, 2002), especially the introduction and the chapter by Bartov. ...