Cinema of the Holocaust

Instructor: Olga Gershenson

6 sessions, Mondays and Thursdays

Tuition: $325
YIVO members: $250

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What is the function of narrative in shaping our historical knowledge? In many ways, cinema today defines how we perceive and interpret our past, including the Holocaust.  Narrative films, in particular, dominate our understanding and memorialization of the Shoah.

In this course, we will examine the tensions between narrative and history as they play out in a number of seminal international films concerning the Holocaust. We will progress historically as well as geographically: from the earliest depictions of Nazi anti-Semitism, to the plethora of genres and styles in recent films; and from the perspective Hollywood to that of the Eastern Bloc.

Our discussions will address modes of representation, dramaturgy, cinematography, style, and languages. We will also be attentive to circumstances of films’ production and circulation, including censorship, funding, distribution, audience and critical reception. All films are with English subtitles.

Olga Gershenson is Professor of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she is also on the Film Studies faculty. Professor Gershenson earned her BA in Russia, her MA in Israel, and her PhD in the US. Her academic path is as diverse. A multi-disciplinary scholar, her interests lie at the intersection of culture, history, and film. Her first book, Gesher: Russian Theater in Israel (2005), pioneered the study of Russian immigrant cultural production. Gershenson's latest book, The Phantom Holocaust (2013), reveals unknown Holocaust films from the Soviet Union. According to the journal Holocaust and Genocide Studies, it "will serve as a foundation for all further research and reflection on the topic."