Tolerance Discourse and Young Adult Holocaust Literature: Engaging Difference and Identity PDF
Preview Tolerance Discourse and Young Adult Holocaust Literature: Engaging Difference and Identity
Tolerance Discourse and Young Adult Holocaust Literature What, exactly, does one mean when idealizing tolerance as a solution to cultural conflict? This book examines a wide range of young adult texts, both fiction and memoir, representing the experiences of young adults during WWII and the Holocaust. Author Rachel Dean-Ruzicka argues for a progressive reading of this literature. Tolerance Discourse and Young Adult Holocaust Literature contests the modern discourse of tolerance, encourag- ing educators and readers to more deeply engage with difference and iden- tity when studying Holocaust texts. Young adult Holocaust literature is an important nexus for examining issues of identity and difference because it directly confronts systems of power, privilege, and personhood. The text delves into the wealth of material available and examines over forty books written for young readers on the Holocaust and, in the last chapter, neo- Nazism. The book also looks at representations of non-Jewish victims, such as the Romani, the disabled, and homosexuals. In addition to critical anal- ysis of the texts, each chapter reads the discourses of tolerance and cosmo- politanism against present-day cultural contexts: ongoing debates regarding multicultural education, gay and lesbian rights, and neo-Nazi activities. The book addresses essential questions of tolerance and toleration that have not been otherwise considered in Holocaust studies or cultural studies of children’s literature. Rachel Dean-Ruzicka holds a PhD in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University. She is a Lecturer of Writing and Commu- nication at Georgia Institute of Technology. Her articles have appeared in Children’s Literature and Education, ImageText, and Female Rebellion in Young Adult Dystopian Fiction. Children’s Literature and Culture Jack Zipes, Founding Series Editor Philip Nel, Current Series Editor For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com Children’s Literature and the Posthuman Animal, Environment, Cyborg Zoe Jaques Justice in Young Adult Speculative Fiction A Cognitive Reading Marek C. Oziewicz Global Perspectives on Death in Children’s Literature Edited by Lesley D. Clement and Leyli Jamali Embodying Gender and Age in Speculative Fiction A Biopsychosocial Approach Derek J. Thiess The Early Reader in Children’s Literature and Culture Theorizing Books for Beginning Readers Edited by Jennifer Miskec and Annette Wannamaker Children’s Literature and Culture of the First World War Edited by Lissa Paul, Rosemary Ross Johnston, and Emma Short The Big Smallness Niche Marketing, the American Culture Wars, and the New Children’s Literature Michelle Ann Abate The Future of the Nineteenth-Century Dream-Child Fantasy, Dystopia, Cyberculture Amy Billone Gendered Identities Critical Readings of Gender in Children’s and Young Adult Literature Edited by Tricia Clasen and Holly Hassel Tolerance Discourse and Young Adult Holocaust Literature Engaging Difference and Identity Rachel Dean-Ruzicka Tolerance Discourse and Young Adult Holocaust Literature Engaging Difference and Identity Rachel Dean-Ruzicka First published 2017 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 Taylor & Francis The right of Rachel Dean-Ruzicka to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data CIP data has been applied for. ISBN: 978-1-138-82033-3 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-74394-3 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by codeMantra For Matt, who makes all things possible This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Figures ix Series Editor’s Foreword xi Image and Lyric Permissions xiii Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 1 Finding the Other in Anne Frank 20 2 The Complexity of Jewish Lives 50 3 Recognizing All the “Lives Unworthy of Living” 82 4 Good Nazis and German Volk as Victims 117 5 Neo-Nazi Values and Community Response 155 Epilogue 179 References 185 Index 195 This page intentionally left blank List of Figures 2.1 Vladek’s arrival home (67). Maus Graphic Novel Panels. 77 4.1 An injured Theo explains his experiences to his sister Helena and his mother (32). A Family Secret Graphic Novel Panel. 131 4.2 Readers see a flashback to Theo’s first experience with the Einsatzgruppen (32). A Family Secret Graphic Novel Panel. 132 4.3 The Einsatzgruppen in action (40). The Search Graphic Novel Panels. 133
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