III.4. « Auschwitz » et « Trentième anniversaire de la première déportation de Juifs de France »

III.4. « Auschwitz » et « Trentième anniversaire de la première déportation de Juifs de France »

This article discusses dilemmas and contradictions that must be addressed when teaching and learning about the Holocaust in a neutral, “bystander” country. The first section of the article examines the ambiguity surrounding the events of WWII in Switzerland, and the lack of any significant memorial...

Description complète

Enregistré dans:
Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Wellers, Georges
Format: Article ou chapitre numérique
Langue:Français
Publié: 2020
Accès en ligne:Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
id cairn-RHSHO_211_0233
record_format cairn
spelling cairn-RHSHO_211_0233RHSHORevue d’Histoire de la Shoah https://shs.cairn.info/revue-d-histoire-de-la-shoah-2020-1-page-233?lang=fr https://doi.org/10.3917/rhsho.211.0233 III.4. « Auschwitz » et « Trentième anniversaire de la première déportation de Juifs de France » Wellers, Georges2020 fre Revue d’Histoire de la Shoah | 211 | 1 | 2020-02-04 | p. 233-262 | 2111-885X RHSHO_21178 This article discusses dilemmas and contradictions that must be addressed when teaching and learning about the Holocaust in a neutral, “bystander” country. The first section of the article examines the ambiguity surrounding the events of WWII in Switzerland, and the lack of any significant memorial sites acknowledging deportation, destruction, or imprisonment. However, the border itself can be considered the country’s most important memorial site, because it was a place of not only rescue and asylum, but also of dismissal and expulsion that set refugees on a path to the death camps, exemplifying the multiple facets of Switzerland’s refugee policy.The second portion of the article addresses the experiences and emotions of teachers and the reluctance of some students to examine the topic. It also asks which subject is most deserving of our attention—victims, perpetrators, or bystanders. Also, an examination of the biographies of teachers’ own families shows the wide variety of links to recent history that exist in Switzerland’s multicultural society.The third section of the article presents educational tools that address the specific challenges faced by a bystander country, including documents and testimonies that show the diverging attitudes of Swiss actors. These resources facilitate a discussion about the responsibility of Swiss authorities, the possible actions they could have taken, and the dilemmas they faced. The teacher’s task is not to transmit a naive image of harmony, but neither should they depict the country’s behaviour as solely criminal and culpable. Instead, educators should teach that some Swiss were complicit with the Nazis, and others performed acts of courage and rescued victims. Switzerland was never wholly black or white ; instead it constituted a “grey zone” that was full of contradictions.Cairn free access
language Français
format Article ou chapitre numérique
building 0/Bibliothèque numérique/
1/Bibliothèque numérique/Cairn/
description This article discusses dilemmas and contradictions that must be addressed when teaching and learning about the Holocaust in a neutral, “bystander” country. The first section of the article examines the ambiguity surrounding the events of WWII in Switzerland, and the lack of any significant memorial sites acknowledging deportation, destruction, or imprisonment. However, the border itself can be considered the country’s most important memorial site, because it was a place of not only rescue and asylum, but also of dismissal and expulsion that set refugees on a path to the death camps, exemplifying the multiple facets of Switzerland’s refugee policy.The second portion of the article addresses the experiences and emotions of teachers and the reluctance of some students to examine the topic. It also asks which subject is most deserving of our attention—victims, perpetrators, or bystanders. Also, an examination of the biographies of teachers’ own families shows the wide variety of links to recent history that exist in Switzerland’s multicultural society.The third section of the article presents educational tools that address the specific challenges faced by a bystander country, including documents and testimonies that show the diverging attitudes of Swiss actors. These resources facilitate a discussion about the responsibility of Swiss authorities, the possible actions they could have taken, and the dilemmas they faced. The teacher’s task is not to transmit a naive image of harmony, but neither should they depict the country’s behaviour as solely criminal and culpable. Instead, educators should teach that some Swiss were complicit with the Nazis, and others performed acts of courage and rescued victims. Switzerland was never wholly black or white ; instead it constituted a “grey zone” that was full of contradictions.
author Wellers, Georges
spellingShingle Wellers, Georges
III.4. « Auschwitz » et « Trentième anniversaire de la première déportation de Juifs de France »
author_facet Wellers, Georges
author_sort Wellers, Georges
title III.4. « Auschwitz » et « Trentième anniversaire de la première déportation de Juifs de France »
title_short III.4. « Auschwitz » et « Trentième anniversaire de la première déportation de Juifs de France »
title_full III.4. « Auschwitz » et « Trentième anniversaire de la première déportation de Juifs de France »
title_fullStr III.4. « Auschwitz » et « Trentième anniversaire de la première déportation de Juifs de France »
title_full_unstemmed III.4. « Auschwitz » et « Trentième anniversaire de la première déportation de Juifs de France »
title_sort iii.4. « auschwitz » et « trentième anniversaire de la première déportation de juifs de france »
publishDate 2020
container_title
container_issue
url https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://shs.cairn.info/revue-d-histoire-de-la-shoah-2020-1-page-233?lang=fr
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.3917/rhsho.211.0233
_version_ 1877246648046845952

Documents similaires