bendk
Grimscribe
After recently watching the film The Zone of Interest, it reminded me of one of the most rewarding areas of reading that I have ever explored: Holocaust Literature.
My father taught history in the public school system. Learning about history was also his avocation. One of the TV programs we would always watch as kids was the famous BBC series The World at War narrated by Lawrence Olivier. This was about World War II. The episode on Genocide was extremely unsettling. Like many people interested in the Holocaust, I couldn't understand how a country as advanced as Germany could so quickly plummet into the depths of genocide. I read books on both sides of the conflict. I started by reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer. I read Mein Kampf. Written in 1923 when Hitler was in prison after his failed coup, the Beer Hall Putsch. I was startled that the world couldn't see what was coming. His hatred of the Jews was evident, even if The Final Solution wasn't mapped out. But Hitler's military ambitions were clear. I also read Inside the Third Reich and Spandau by Albert Speer, The Myth of the Twentieth Century by Alfred Rosenberg, The Goebbels Diaries, etc. I also watched numerous documentaries on the subject. There was a lot of myth and racial theory interwoven in Nazism. I was also reading Nietzsche at the time, and in some ways, they bastardized his philosophy into a kind of social Darwinism.
I then started reading quite a bit of what is called Holocaust Literature.
I read numerous accounts by Elie Wiesel, Primo Levi, Viktor Frankl, Charlotte Delbo, et al.
Even though I see few similarities with Ligotti's work, I try to steer things in that direction if I can, so here is an article I read quite a while ago.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/thomas-ligotti-holocaust-fiction
I asked Claude AI to summarize the article.
- Ligotti's nihilistic perspective resonates in an odd way with post-Holocaust Judaism, which has had to grapple with the idea of God's covenant being shattered and a "death of God" theology emerging after the Holocaust. There is an "uncanny doubt" in Jewish faith now.
- The story "Dream of a Manikin" explores deluded human self-consciousness and autonomy. Ligotti sees humans as "manikins" traveling through life in ignorant bliss.
- The author wonders if uncanny horror in Ligotti's style could be a future direction for Holocaust literature, as a way to explore the lingering theological issues generations removed from the actual events. Scream therapy-esque scenarios force us to confront the worst possible universes.
- The psychiatrist narrator in "Dream of a Manikin" pleads for his recipient to acknowledge his existence and have an "I and thou" real relationship, nodding to Martin Buber's philosophy. This reasserts the narrator's challenged worldview.
I then asked what the similarities were.
Some key similarities and thematic parallels between the work of horror writer Thomas Ligotti and Holocaust literature:
1) Sense of Existential Dread: Both portray a strong sense of dread, fear, and suffering in the face of a cold, uncaring world. Ligotti's work conveys existential and cosmic horror, while Holocaust literature deals with the deep trauma and terror of that historical atrocity.
2) Meaninglessness of Suffering: The portrayal of harsh realities devoid of meaning or purpose is another key commonality. In Ligotti, humans exist in an indifferent universe against uncaring forces. In Holocaust literature, victim suffering also appears incomprehensible and meaningless.
3) Absurdity: Relatedly, both deal with life's absurdity and struggle, though they approach it differently. Ligotti relies on abstract philosophical principles while Holocaust literature draws from actual lived events. Nevertheless, the confrontation with "absurd" realities links them.
4) Illusion Stripping: There is a similar stripping away of comforting illusions about the nature of reality. In Ligotti's dark fiction, safety and optimism are shown as illusory constructs. Holocaust literature also painfully erodes common faith in humanity.
5) Bleak View of Existence: Ultimately, both lead readers toward very somber perspectives on life and suffering, often termed pessimistic or gloomy. However, for some readers there could be a kind of understanding gained from facing darkness.
So while Ligotti and Holocaust literature have differences in their framing and content, there are some interesting high-level thematic links between them involving existential meaninglessness and humanity's ability to inflict/endure suffering.
I thought I would add 'Jewish Horror Fiction' to allow more latitude within the thread. Also, much of Jewish horror is linked to their folklore and the Holocaust.
Have you read any Holocaust literature or Jewish horror fiction?
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