Jewish artists and descendants of Holocaust survivors
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Lynne Davis
College:
The College of Health Professions and Human Services
Major:
Holocaust and Genovide Studies
Faculty Research Advisor(s):
Adara Goldberg
Abstract:
Q: If society functioned according to the dissemination of antisemetic theories, what contributions to our world would have been lost?
What persistent dissemination of antisemitic theories over time have consistently been discredited? Much loved by the Nazi Party, Revolutionary German Composer Richard Wagner voiced anitsemtic theories and outright disdain towards the Jewish populace. Wagner believed that Jews had nothing to offer the world; they had no capacity for creativity. American industrialist Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company and pioneering manufacturer, supported a multitude of antisemtic theories. He abhorred the Jews and took every opportunity to defame them while perpetrating the notion that they were devoid of creative abilities. To this measure, if the Nazis’ Final Solution plan was successful, if the world was rid of the Jewish population in its entirety and society functioned according to the dissemination of antisemetic theories, what contributions to our world would have been lost? What poets, artists, and pop culture icons would never have existed? This study explores the contributions of Jewish artists that are descendants of Holocaust survivors while considering how their relatives’ experiences during the Holocaust may have influenced their work.