Remembering to Forget: Holocaust Memory through the Camera's Eye [Paperback]

Barbie Zelizer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0226979733 | ISBN-13: 978-0226979731 | Edition: 1

Barbie Zelizer reveals the unique significance of the photographs taken at the liberation of the concentration camps in Germany after World War II. She shows how the photographs have become the basis of our memory of the Holocaust and how they have affected our presentations and perceptions of contemporary history's subsequent atrocities. Impressive in its range and depth and illustrated with more than 60 photographs, Remembering to Forget is a history of contemporary photojournalism, a compelling chronicle of these unforgettable photographs, and a fascinating study of how collective memory is forged and changed.

"[A] fascinating study. . . . Here we have a completely fresh look at the emergence of photography as a major component of journalistic reporting in the course of the liberation of the camps by the Western Allies. . . . Well written and argued, superbly produced with more photographs of atrocity than most people would want to see in a lifetime, this is clearly an important book."—Omer Bartov, Times Literary Supplement

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Zelizer (Covering the Body: The Kennedy Assassination, the Media, and the Shaping of the Collective Memory, LJ 11/1/92), who writes regularly for the Nation, has produced an interesting study of the relationship between photojournalism, memories, and atrocities such as the Holocaust. Zelizer argues that photographs became the major part of the journalistic record during World War II, when the reality of the camps could not be conveyed entirely in words. That advance for contemporary photojournalism has created a collective memory of the Holocaust. In addition, Zelizer questions the images' role in representing the past historically and in remembering the past collectively. She also links Holocaust photographs to how people present and perceive present-day atrocities, which are measured against the German horrors and vice versa. She traces the waves of memory about the atrocities and how photographs have been used since the 1950s. Much has been written about the press and the Holocaust, but this is unique in its focus on the collective memory. Recommended for media, communications, and Holocaust collections.AMary F. Salony, West Virginia Northern Community Coll. Lib., Wheeling
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Of all the photographs recording the history of this century, none are as horrifying and shocking as those taken in 1945 of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps. Zelizer addresses what she calls the mechanics of visual memory and historical record at their broadest level, and she explores how others, such as cultural critic Susan Sontag, have used those "atrocity photos" to link past and present. Among the questions Zelizer asks and answers are, How were those first images of the camps produced and presented? By whom and under what circumstances? How were they received and to what effect? When, why, how, and to what purposes were they co-opted into memory? And in what ways have they persisted as vehicles of collective memory? The author devotes a final chapter to the more recent atrocities in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge, the genocidal actions against the Kurds of Iraq, the massacres in Rwanda and Burundi, and the killings in Bosnia and Algeria, as well as the role that photography played in those barbaric acts. George Cohen --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226979733
• ISBN-13: 978-0226979731
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.8 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #854,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Remembering to Forget April 27, 2012

By bugtussletx

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is well written. It is mostly about photography. It has many, many photographs but now much history. Most of the photographs I had not seen.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is an amazing book July 25, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

It shws the holocaust via the media better than any other book I have read. I was not at all surprised when it won the Simon V. Weisenthal award. It is a must to read.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Read This Book! September 11, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

This book is an original, introducing the world to an extraordinarily intelligent and sensitive author. I recommend this book to anyone concerned with the effect of atrocity on humankind.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Breathtaking Research Book-The Best One Yet! September 10, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

When I began reading this book, I was planning on using it as a resource for my college thesis. However, once I began I became utterly interested in all Ms. Zelizer had to write. This is truly an excellent book.