THE HOLOCAUST AS CULTURE. IMRE KERTESZ'S LECTURE (Holocaust jako kultura. Wyklad Imre Kertesza)

• Authors: Heller Agnes
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

Agnes Heller's text is devoted to three essays by a Hungarian Nobel prize winner, Imre Kertesz, namely 'Taborok maradandosaga' (Imperishability of the Nazi Camps), 'Hosszu, sotet arnyek' (Long, Dark Shadow), and 'A Holocaust mint kultura' (The Holocaust as Culture). The researcher analyses the different meanings of the theses that Kertesz submits and the issues related to the experience of the Holocaust. Special attention is paid to the interpretation of the role that the 'spirit of the novel' plays in Nietzschean world after God's death. Heller also questions for the answer whether the Extermination experience which imbalanced the values of European humanism may be repeated. An important part of Heller's reflection is an analysis of two greatest traumas of our times, i.e. the Holocaus and the Gulag, which she sees as two vital myths shaping our consciousness. The Holocaust denotes an ultimate symbol of a broken Agreement and violation of the Law, both established by religion and European humanism, while the Gulag is a political myth and a metaphor of a totalitarian society.

• Publisher: Instytut Badań Literackich PAN
• Journal: Pamiętnik Literacki
• Year: 2010
• Volume: 101
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 103-109
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Heller Agnes

• A. Heller, Professor, Eotvos Lorand Tudomanyegytem, Budapest

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

10PLAAAA089327