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Signs of the Shoah: The Hollandsche Schouwburg as a site of memory

Author(s): Duindam, David

Date: 2016

Topics: Main Topic: Holocaust and Memorial, Holocaust Memorials, Holocaust, Holocaust Commemoration

Abstract: This dissertation investigates the postwar development of the Hollandsche Schouwburg, an in situ Shoah memorial museum in Amsterdam, within the fields of memory, heritage and museum studies. During World War II, over forty-six thousand Jews were imprisoned in this former theater before being deported to the transit camps. In 1962, it became the first national Shoah memorial of the Netherlands and in 1993, a small exhibition was added. In the spring of 2016, the National Holocaust Museum opened, which consists of the Hollandsche Schouwburg and a new satellite space across the street. This dissertation deals with the question how this site of painful heritage became an important memorial museum dedicated to the memory of the persecution of the Dutch Jews. I argue that this former theater was not a site of oblivion before 1962 but rather a material reminder of the persecution of the Jews which at that time was not an articulated part of the hegemonic memory discourse of the war in the Netherlands. The memorial was gradually appropriated by important Jewish institutions through the installment of Yom HaShoah, an educational exhibition and a wall of names. These are analyzed not by focusing on material authenticity, but instead a case is made for latent indexicality: visitors actively produce narratives by searching for traces of the past. This entails an ongoing creative process of meaning-making that allows sites of memory to expand and proliferate beyond their borders. An important question therefore is how the Hollandsche Schouwburg affects its direct surroundings.

Jews and Muslims in London: Navigating between commonalities and differences in a superdiverse city

Author(s): van Esdonk, Susanne

Date: 2020

Topics: Jewish - Muslim Relations, Interfaith Dialogue, Interfaith Relations, Inter-Communal Relations, Dialogue, Main Topic: Other

Abstract: This thesis seeks to answer the question of how Jews and Muslims in London configured constructive engagement between 2014 and 2016 and how the interplay between various factors influenced the way in which engagement was forged and sustained. It demonstrates how Jewish-Muslim engagement is frequently situational, forged in response to certain trigger events and circumstances such as the intensification of transnational conflicts, changes in national government and developments in the composition of local neighbourhoods. Concerning the configuration of constructive engagement, the thesis demonstrates an interplay between goals and substantive approaches and that the capacity to forge and sustain engagement depends highly on actors and funding opportunities, as well as the (successful) application of strategies to deal with difficulties and tensions. Together, the multitude of actors, goals and approaches and the plethora of influential contextual factors create a highly diverse and widely dispersed landscape of Jewish-Muslim engagement in London.

Jewish-Muslim relations in Amsterdam: Cooperation and tension in times of turmoil

Author(s): Roggeveen, Suzanna

Date: 2020

Topics: Antisemitism: Muslim, Antisemitism, Jewish - Muslim Relations, Islamophobia, Main Topic: Other

Abstract: In European societies, where majority populations often call the position of minorities into question, discussion of diversity in the public arena often becomes tense. Tension also occurs between minorities and can affect the day to day lives of many, so it is vital to understand where it comes from as well as to know how to solve these problems. My study contributes insights into the dynamics between minorities and between minorities and majorities in contemporary societies by studying relations between Jews and Muslims in Amsterdam. It deepens our understanding of the underlying mechanisms that structure Jewish-Muslim relations, describes their strategies in regard to these structures and broadens our view on their relations with each other. It aims to add insights into societal problems and their solutions. At the same time it tries to contribute theoretical insights into the study of relations between minorities that are often seen or identify as ethno-religious groups through the lens of Bourdieusian theories complemented by social identity theory, emotion management theories and in comparison to empirical studies on Jewish-Muslim relations.