1st Edition

The Holocaust Short Story

By Mary Catherine Mueller Copyright 2020
    140 Pages
    by Routledge

    140 Pages
    by Routledge

    The Holocaust Short Story is the only book devoted entirely to representations of the Holocaust in the short story genre. The book highlights how the explosiveness of the moment captured in each short story is more immediate and more intense, and therefore recreates horrifying emotional reactions for the reader. The main themes confronted in the book deal with the collapse of human relationships, the collapse of the home, and the dying of time in the monotony and angst of surrounding death chambers. The book thoroughly introduces the genres of both the short story and Holocaust writing, explaining the key features and theories in the area. Each chapter then looks at the stories in detail, including work by Ida Fink, Tadeusz Borowski, Rokhl Korn, Frume Halpern, and Cynthia Ozick. This book is essential reading for anyone working on Holocaust literature, trauma studies, Jewish studies, Jewish literature, and the short story genre.

    Preface 

    Introduction: the features of the Holocaust short story 

    1. The collapse of time: introduction to select themes of the Holocaust short story 

    2. The collapse of silence: the role of silence in Ida Fink’s short stories 

    3. The collapse of man – and then man created the anti-man: the role of the Muselman figure in select short stories from Tadeusz Borowski’s This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen 

    4. The collapse of relationships and home: the Nazi assault on relationships, family, and home as portrayed in two Yiddish Holocaust short stories 

    5. The collapse of motherhood: Cynthia Ozick’s short story "The Shawl" 

    Conclusion

    Biography

    Mary Catherine Mueller, Ph.D., teaches Holocaust Literature at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Mueller has presented her work in the field of Holocaust studies to scholars, educators, and human rights advocates around the world. Her research and writings examine representations of the Holocaust in art, culture, and memory; Jewish studies; anti-Semitism; and representations of the Holocaust in literature.