This presentation examines the complicated status of perpetrator materials at Holocaust museums and archival collections -- specifically, the manner in which they tend to be perceived by students, donors, and visitors as "disgraceful" or unsettling. Nazi-related materials are often described as standing in stark contrast to the sacred artifacts, documents, and photos of Holocaust survivors or victims. Drawing from research conducted at two sites (a college archive and a Holocaust museum), the author unpacks questions such as: Is there space for perpetrator materials at sites that seek to preserve the sacred memory of survivors and victims? What specific emotions and reactions do these artifacts evoke for donors, students, and others? Are efforts made at these sites to contain or limit the power of Nazi flags and other symbols of hatred? And what, if anything, might such objects teach us about the realities of war and genocide?
This presentation examines the complicated status of perpetrator materials at Holocaust museums and archival collections -- specifically, the manner in which they tend to be perceived by students, donors, and visitors as "disgraceful" or unsettling. Nazi-related materials are often described as standing in stark contrast to the sacred artifacts, documents, and photos of Holocaust survivors or victims. Drawing from research conducted at two sites (a college archive and a Holocaust museum), the author unpacks questions such as: Is there space for perpetrator materials at sites that seek to preserve the sacred memory of survivors and victims? What specific emotions and reactions do these artifacts evoke for donors, students, and others? Are efforts made at these sites to contain or limit the power of Nazi flags and other symbols of hatred? And what, if anything, might such objects teach us about the realities of war and genocide?