The Path and the Pit: History and Traumatic Memory in Primo Levi's If Not Now, When?

Abstract Primo Levi's If Not Now, When? is a work of historical fiction describing the small triumphs and sufferings of a band of Jewish partisans who fight against the Nazis. They are also Holocaust survivors whose families and communities died in the pits of the Einsatzgruppen. This article r...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Shofar. - Purdue University Press, 2015. - 33(2015), 3, Seite 46-62
1. Verfasser: Druker, Jonathan (VerfasserIn)
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Veröffentlicht: 2015
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Shofar
Schlagworte:Behavioral sciences Law History Arts Political science Social sciences
LEADER 01000caa a22002652 4500
001 JST12558833X
003 DE-627
005 20240625091551.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 190215s2015 xx |||||o 00| ||en c
024 7 |a 10.5703/shofar.33.3.46  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)JST12558833X 
035 |a (JST)shofar.33.3.46 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rakwb 
041 |a en 
100 1 |a Druker, Jonathan  |e verfasserin  |4 aut 
245 1 4 |a The Path and the Pit: History and Traumatic Memory in Primo Levi's If Not Now, When? 
264 1 |c 2015 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a Abstract Primo Levi's If Not Now, When? is a work of historical fiction describing the small triumphs and sufferings of a band of Jewish partisans who fight against the Nazis. They are also Holocaust survivors whose families and communities died in the pits of the Einsatzgruppen. This article reinterprets the novel through the combined lens of trauma theory and historian Saul Friedlander's notion that, in the case of collective catastrophe, genuine historical consciousness may be achieved only through the uneasy juxtaposition of objective historical narrative with the victims' anguished voices. While most other readings of the novel focus on the path Levi's partisans take toward renewed dignity and reconciliation, the principal claim of this article is that the novel succeeds as a work of Holocaust historical fiction because it subverts it own narrative flow—its path—by constantly invoking the pit, the site of trauma that threatens to block the partisans' access to the future. In support of this claim, the article not only analyzes the literary strategies Levi uses to engage his fictional characters in the documented history of World War II, but also uncovers his techniques for representing their memories of the Holocaust, a collective trauma that violently interrupted history's course. 
540 |a © 2015 Purdue University 
650 4 |a Behavioral sciences  |x Psychology  |x Cognitive psychology  |x Memory 
650 4 |a Law  |x Criminal law  |x Criminal offenses  |x Crimes against humanity  |x Holocaust 
650 4 |a History  |x Historical methodology  |x Historiography  |x History of religion  |x Jewish history 
650 4 |a Arts  |x Literature  |x Literary genres  |x Fiction  |x Novels 
650 4 |a Behavioral sciences  |x Anthropology  |x Ethnology  |x Ethnic groups  |x Ethnoreligious groups  |x Jewish peoples 
650 4 |a History  |x Historical methodology  |x Historiography  |x Narrative history 
650 4 |a Political science  |x Military science  |x Armed conflict  |x War 
650 4 |a Social sciences  |x Communications  |x Narratives 
650 4 |a Political science  |x Political philosophy  |x Political ideologies  |x Authoritarianism  |x Fascism  |x Nazism 
650 4 |a Arts  |x Literature  |x Literary genres  |x Fiction  |x Historical fiction  |x ARTICLES 
655 4 |a research-article 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t Shofar  |d Purdue University Press, 2015  |g 33(2015), 3, Seite 46-62  |w (DE-627)329276476  |w (DE-600)2047284-5  |x 15345165  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:33  |g year:2015  |g number:3  |g pages:46-62 
856 4 0 |u https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5703/shofar.33.3.46  |3 Volltext 
856 4 0 |u https://doi.org/10.5703/shofar.33.3.46  |3 Volltext 
912 |a GBV_USEFLAG_A 
912 |a SYSFLAG_A 
912 |a GBV_JST 
912 |a GBV_ILN_11 
912 |a GBV_ILN_20 
912 |a GBV_ILN_22 
912 |a GBV_ILN_24 
912 |a GBV_ILN_31 
912 |a GBV_ILN_39 
912 |a GBV_ILN_40 
912 |a GBV_ILN_60 
912 |a GBV_ILN_62 
912 |a GBV_ILN_63 
912 |a GBV_ILN_65 
912 |a GBV_ILN_70 
912 |a GBV_ILN_90 
912 |a GBV_ILN_100 
912 |a GBV_ILN_110 
912 |a GBV_ILN_120 
912 |a GBV_ILN_206 
912 |a GBV_ILN_285 
912 |a GBV_ILN_374 
912 |a GBV_ILN_702 
912 |a GBV_ILN_1200 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2001 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2003 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2005 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2006 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2007 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2008 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2009 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2010 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2011 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2014 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2015 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2018 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2020 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2021 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2025 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2026 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2027 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2031 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2044 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2048 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2050 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2055 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2056 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2057 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2061 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2107 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2111 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2190 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2761 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2875 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2949 
912 |a GBV_ILN_2950 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4012 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4035 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4037 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4046 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4112 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4126 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4242 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4251 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4305 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4306 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4307 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4322 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4323 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4324 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4325 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4335 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4346 
912 |a GBV_ILN_4393 
951 |a AR 
952 |d 33  |j 2015  |e 3  |h 46-62