Jesse Steinman is a Sophomore with an undeclared major in the college. He was awarded a Summer 2018 Independent Grant which he used to conduct research on the history and memory of the Holocaust underthe Director of Centropa, Edward Serotta.
One of the things I have had to get used to in Europe is that AC and ice aren’t standard during the summer. This makes for steaming hot work days, where I am cramped in a stuffy archive for the day. Regardless, my research keeps calling me back for more, and I am always eager to return to work.
The story that has enticed me for the past 6 weeks is that of Bulgaria during the Holocaust. Bulgaria tried to maintain neutrality during World War II, but eventually became allies with the Nazis. They did so because the Nazis promised Bulgaria they would reclaim their “lost” territories that Bulgaria had ceded in previous military defeats. However, against the Nazi’s intentions, Bulgaria did not carry out genocidal plans against the 50,000 Jews from proper Bulgaria. While there was antisemitic legislation, deportations within Bulgaria, and a general antisemitic atmosphere, there was no mass deportation of the Bulgarian Jews to the Nazi death camps. On the other hand, the Bulgarian government did deport the over 12,000 Jews from their reclaimed territories of Macedonia, Thrace, and Dobruja. Historians have written books trying to patch together this complex history, but for my research project I am focusing on how individuals remembered these events. What is the significance of how individuals remember history? Furthermore, how can memory contribute to greater historical understanding?
Every day before I depart on my 30-minute commute to the archive, I am always eager to find out what I will learn. Over the course of the summer, I analyzed 75 interviews of Jews from Bulgaria who remained in Europe after the Holocaust. These interviews conducted in the early 2000s are filled with personal testimonies of the interviewees’ entire lives. This allows for an incredible research opportunity. Because these interviews were conducted roughly 60 years after World War II, the focal point of the research is not to determine the veracity of their testimonies, but rather detail the different ways in which they remembered these same historical events. Their childhood, political affiliations, nationalistic identities, and personal experiences, all lead to them remembering history in a slightly disparate light. These disparities are what I find fascinating.
While I was familiar with the historical side of this project, I needed a deeper understanding of Memory Studies before I approached this topic. In my preparation I found great meaning in the theory of Collective Memory. This idea, which was pioneered by Maurice Halbwachs, sees memory as a reconstruction of the past within the contemporary context. This recollection is then done when the individual places themselves within a greater group identity. By analyzing these interviews through the lens of Collective Memory, I found interesting ways in which communal identity is projected on both the individual and their memory.
As I continued to bring together history and memory when analyzing these interviews, I explored the relationship between these two interpretations of the past. I compared each approach in different ways by looking at their methodology, purpose, subjects, and greater significance. As I go forward writing my paper on this research during the upcoming semester, the interplay between memory and history will serve as a focal point.
I gained access to these interviews thanks to Centropa, a Jewish Historical Institute based in Vienna. Centropa conducted these interviews, and translated them to English in order to use for their online database and to create educational materials on European Jewish History. They have conducted over 1,500 interviews from 15 European countries. Not only was I just accessing and analyzing their Bulgarian interviews, but Iwas also able to make them available to the public online.Using their software at their archive, I uploaded these interviews online along with the thousands of family pictures that came with these interviews. Not only has the research itself been an amazing opportunity, but I am glad that I was also able to help make these interviews available to everyone. They can be accessed at: http://www.centropa.org/picturesstories?type=biography&field_biography_country_tid=145#collapsed.
I am so lucky that the archive that housed the interviews was based in Vienna. This city is absolutely amazing. I routinely walk past gorgeous buildings, stop at historical sites, and explore the bustling city. When I have the opportunity to work elsewhere other than the archive, I usually go to my favorite café, Café Kafka. This café is a traditional Viennese coffeehouse that has an invigorating intellectual spirit, great coffee, and a delicious apple strudel. Being in such a historical and cultural city has helped my research, because the surrounding atmosphere constantly pushes me to think. While being an outsider has been humbling, I enjoyed stepping outside my traditional bubble and establishing a real connection with the city.
While I can’t believe that my time in Vienna is up, I am pleased with the research and am eager to get back to Emory to continue to work on the end product.
Visit the Undergraduate Research Programs website to learn more about applying for Independent Research Grants.
Comments
Post a Comment