Volume 15

Der Holocaust im arabischen Gedächtnis

While in Europe the Holocaust became a reference point of historical narratives as a »rupture in civilization« Arab intellectuals had but a scant perception of the event. The avoidance in perception has previously been viewed either against the backdrop of current political constellations or determined by cultural preconditions. By contrast, the Omar Kamil’s study adopts a perspective grounded on the history of discourse and its percussion. Utilizing central source material by Arnold Toynbee, Jean-Paul Sartre, Maxime Rodinson and their reception in the nineteen sixties, the author develops a new view on the subject. In his analysis, it was the experience of colonialism which blocked an appropriate perception of the Holocaust in the Arab world. The author explores the opportunities afforded by breaking free from competing memories of the experience of violence.

Translations of contemporary Arab source material introduced and commented on by the author supplement the volume. These texts offer the interested reader the possibility to better comprehend controversies among Arab intellectuals previously not accessible in print in Western languages.