Shoah Film Discussion Questions

1. There are two very different kinds of silence that dominate Shoah. The silence of the landscape and the silence of interviewed subjects permeate much of the film; how are these two types of silences different? What role do they play and what effects does silence have on your interpretation of the scenes in which silence plays a role?

2. Lanzmann's use of landscape seems to be fundamentally at odds with Resnais' use of landscape in Night and Fog. What important similarities and differences do you see in the depiction of landscape as it relates to the content and/or purposes of the films?

3. Lanzmann does not narrate the action of the film, and instead relies on the interviews to punctuate the action of the film. He has in the past gone so far as to completely reject the use of archived photographs and/or stock footage, noting that if he "had stumbled on a real SS film...that showed how 3,000 Jewish men, women, and children were in gassed...not only would I not have shown it but I would have destroyed it." Alternatively, Resnais' Night and Fog relies almost exclusively on stock footage, photographs and the spoken narration written by Jean Cayrol. What makes these films different in their intent, cinematographic mode, and ultimately, the films' messages?

4. What particular scenes/interviews were particularly striking to you? What was the experience like for you as a viewer, and how did your experience viewing the film differ from other films we have watched this semester?

Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land Reading Response Prompt Questions

Choose one of the following questions to answer in an essay of 2-3 pages:

1. What is the role of maternal relationships in the text? What do maternal relationships reveal about the nature of life in Auschwitz? What are the metaphorical implications of the maternal in Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land?


2. What is the role of language in Auschwitz? How does Nomberg-Przytyk approach the ambiguity of language noted by Holocaust scholars and other writer-survivors?


3. What is the structure of camp hierarchy as represented in the text? How does Nomberg-Przytyk approach camp hierarchy in relation to her experiences?



All reading responses are due Tuesday 23 February in class or by 5 PM in Avery 475, along with all Schindler's List reading responses

Schindler's List Reading Response Prompt Questions

Reading responses for Schindler's List are due Tuesday 23 February in class or by 5 PM. Please be sure to review the assignment handout before completing the assignment, with particular attention paid to the labeling system outlined, as it ensures your work is graded and recorded without difficulty.

Choose one of the following prompts to respond to in an essay of 2-3 double-spaced pages:

1. In other representations of the Holocaust we have read for the course, the loss of identity plays an important role in the process of dehumanization. How does Schindler's List address the function of identity and the loss and/or reclaiming of identity? What role does identity play in the film?

2. Oskar Schindler's transformation on-screen from a cold, callous businessman into a caring defender is a slow process. What specific events does the film link to his transformation?

3. Some have argued that Itzhak Stern's role in the film is vital to Schindler's realization. Examining the role of Itzhak Stern (played by Ben Kingsley) in the film, what makes him a vital character to the unfolding of events in the film?

4. Read through this account of Oskar Schindler, excerpted from "The Real Oskar Schindler." How does this depiction of him differ from his depiction on film? How does this change your view of the film's representation of events?

Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land and Due Date Reminders

Hi folks--technical indigestion is over. A few date reminders:

Reading responses for Schindler's List will be due next Tuesday 23 February, in class or in Avery 475 by 5 PM
Reading responses for Sara Nomberg-Przytyk's Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land will also be due Tuesday 23 February

You should plan to finish Auschwitz by tomorrow's class, when we will discuss the text and discussion questions outlined below:

1. Gender plays an important role in Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land, and more specifically, maternal relationships are a recurring motif in the text. Noting the specific examples in which Nomberg-Przytyk invokes the role of motherhood in camp life, how do you interpret this motif? What are her motivations for invoking the maternal? How is her approach to gender different from/similar to Delbo's approach in Auschwitz and After?


2. As we acknowledged in our discussion of Levi's Survival in Auschwitz, camp hierarchy and the organization of camp life is central to representation of life in Auschwitz. What does the structure Nomberg-Przytyk outlines look like? How is the camp organized? How is her description of the hierarchy different from Levi's focus on the economy of camp life?

3. How is the text structured? Most critics describe the text as a series of vignettes (short literary sketches), the very same description used in summaries of Delbo's Auschwitz and After. How is the function of Nomberg-Przytyk's vignette different from that of the vignette found in Delbo's text? Why is the term vignette used instead of chapter? How do you understand the function of chapter sequence in a narrative?

4. What is the role of medicine in the infirmary? How does Nomberg-Przytyk depict the role of medicine in the infirmary and in camp life?

Technical Difficulties *Fuzz*

Hi folks. Bear with me as I restore my poor laptop (RIP). I will post discussion questions for Sara Nomberg-Przytyk's Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land, as well as prompt questions for the Schindler's List reading response, as soon as my external hard drive is located tomorrow (most likely by the afternoon).


In the meantime, remember to back up your files. And give your computer a kiss. Who knows, it might just stave off the crash fairies.

Final Research Paper Survey

Please follow the link below to complete a quick survey regarding the content of your final project for the course:

Click here to take survey

Grade queries and formatting reading responses

Hi folks, I hope you are all off to a restful weekend. In the meantime, I have uploaded the first reading response grades onto elearning (as well as the grades for the last quiz from Thursday). I hope to upload the second reading response grades before Tuesday's class, and I will distribute the drafts at that point for your perusal. Should you have any questions once you receive your draft as to how to improve your writing content, make an appointment, and I will be happy to discuss further progress.

Please keep in mind the specific guidelines for formatting outlined in the assignment handout, particularly if you choose to write a response to Night and Fog. If you have lost or otherwise misplaced the handout, it is currently available for download on elearning. Labeling of assignments is crucial to making sure I get your grades in on time and accurately, and correct MLA format citation is a minimum requirement for completing assignments.

NIght and Fog Reading Response Prompt Questions

For those of you who plan to write a reading response for Night and Fog, here are the prompt questions. The first question asks you to engage both the film and Lubline's summary of the film's reception; the second question only asks you to focus on the film.



1. Warren Lubline outlines the specific criticism many critics of Night and Fog have for the film, including its lack of survivor testimony. Noting specific claims made by critics, do you agree or disagree with their assessment of the film? In your opinion, what are the film's strengths and weaknesses?



2. What is your interpretation of the message of the film? What specific visual, aural and narrative clues does the film employ to represent this message?



Due date: Tuesday 9 February in class or under my office door in Avery 475

Theresientstadt Film Clips

Here are a couple of links to clips of the Nazi propaganda film, Theresientstadt: Ein Dokumentarfilm aus dem judischen Siedlun.

A 6-minute clip of the film: http://bit.ly/9hxVwR

The filmed performance of Brundibar: http://bit.ly/cYDXEh

Night and Fog/Lubline article discussion questions

While we will obviously focus much of our discussion on the film and its reception, Lubline makes a number of references to concepts that tackle the larger issues surrounding representing the Holocaust. Some of the discussion questions below will ask you to consider representation beyond Resnais's Night and Fog:

1. In the introductory rationale to the article, Lubline notes the example of an Old Navy commercial, in which a student gushes praise for the chronological appeal of history. Thinking back to your own historical education preceding your entrance to university, is this an accurate description of how you were taught about historical events? What are the benefits and drawbacks to linear history? Given the non-linear approach to narrative we have encountered in Delbo and Levi, is the lack of chronology a barrier for you as a reader?


2. Lubline recalls the controversy surrounding The Diary of Anne Frank and its subsequent theatrical adaptation in the late 1950s, specifically noting that passages from the diary pertaining to the Jewish religion were excised from the staged version because the universality of the Holocaust was of central concern at the time. The recent controversy over Anne Frank's diary suggests that Americans are still concerned over how best to represent the Holocaust. What shift in focus does this new controversy suggest? How is the shift similar to the excising of religious passages from the play version of the 1950s? (Note: here is a link to a news story about the current controversy over Anne Frank's diary)


3. What does the censorship of Resnais's films in both Europe and the United States suggest about what Lubline terms the "Americanization" of the Holocaust? What does censorship suggest about the role of visual media in chronicling historical events?


4. Testimony by survivors is a critical facet of representing the Holocaust, and in the absence of witness testimony in the film, Lubline notes that audiences are "put off" by the lack of personalization or access to survivor testimony. How would your view of the film change if survivors' voices had been included? Are you "put off" by this absence?


5. The conditions for Jews in Europe is noticeably absent from the film (and thus to some signaled an apolitical message), yet it was later criticized for what some interpreted as a Zionist agenda. What does the politicization of the film in US circles say about the role of cinema? What does the appropriation of the film (and ultimately the history of the Holocaust) by those protesting the Vietnam War illustrate about the role of cinema?



*A little correction to the Lubline essay is in order: while Night and Fog was effectively banned from top billing at the Cannes Film Festival, it was in fact screened to a small, resistant band of critics, most of whom were appalled at the thought of censorship being tolerated in the art world.