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Imperial War Museum rejects criticism of caption in Holocaust display Imperial War Museum rejects criticism of caption in Holocaust display
(1 day later)
Visitor to museum and two eminent historians say wording of information board on Nuremberg race laws is incorrectVisitor to museum and two eminent historians say wording of information board on Nuremberg race laws is incorrect
The Imperial War Museum has declined to change an information board in its Holocaust Galleries that two eminent historians say is incorrect.The Imperial War Museum has declined to change an information board in its Holocaust Galleries that two eminent historians say is incorrect.
The information board refers to the Nuremberg race laws passed by the Nazi regime in Germany in 1935, which included a definition of who was Jewish. The laws said anyone with three or four Jewish grandparents was a Jew and anyone with one or two Jewish grandparents was Mischlinge, or mixed race.The information board refers to the Nuremberg race laws passed by the Nazi regime in Germany in 1935, which included a definition of who was Jewish. The laws said anyone with three or four Jewish grandparents was a Jew and anyone with one or two Jewish grandparents was Mischlinge, or mixed race.
The IWM’s information board states: “Under the provision of the law, a person was defined as Jewish based on how many observant Jewish grandparents they had, even if they were not personally Jewish themselves.” The IWM’s information board states that, under the provision of the law, “a person was defined as Jewish based on how many observant Jewish grandparents they had”.
The inclusion of the word “observant” raised concerns for a retired academic from New York who was visiting the Holocaust Galleries in London last year. She wrote to the IWM saying the “wording referring to observant Jewish grandparents with its lack of historical accuracy must be changed”.The inclusion of the word “observant” raised concerns for a retired academic from New York who was visiting the Holocaust Galleries in London last year. She wrote to the IWM saying the “wording referring to observant Jewish grandparents with its lack of historical accuracy must be changed”.
The former academic, who asked not to be named, said she had been “extraordinarily impressed” with the material displayed at the galleries. “Then I came to the race laws, and I know that ‘observant’ Jewish grandparents just made no sense. It disregards the vast majority of the Jewish population who are not observant,” she told the Guardian.The former academic, who asked not to be named, said she had been “extraordinarily impressed” with the material displayed at the galleries. “Then I came to the race laws, and I know that ‘observant’ Jewish grandparents just made no sense. It disregards the vast majority of the Jewish population who are not observant,” she told the Guardian.
The Nazis were intent on eradicating all Jews, regardless of whether they were observant or not, she said. “This is such a misleading impression of the Nazi outlook that for me it’s reprehensible that it stays in the public domain.”The Nazis were intent on eradicating all Jews, regardless of whether they were observant or not, she said. “This is such a misleading impression of the Nazi outlook that for me it’s reprehensible that it stays in the public domain.”
Caro Howell, the IWM’s director general, told the former academic that “full and sincere consideration” had been given to the points she had raised “but we stand by the curatorial choices that we have made and that our expert advisers have reviewed”.Caro Howell, the IWM’s director general, told the former academic that “full and sincere consideration” had been given to the points she had raised “but we stand by the curatorial choices that we have made and that our expert advisers have reviewed”.
In an email seen by the Guardian, Howell said the integrity of the IWM would be undermined if it made changes every time “questions of interpretative nuance” were raised.In an email seen by the Guardian, Howell said the integrity of the IWM would be undermined if it made changes every time “questions of interpretative nuance” were raised.
The retired academic sought the views of two highly regarded Holocaust historians. Christopher Browning, who has written numerous books on the Holocaust and was an expert witness in the David Irving libel trial in 2000, said: “The issue was not whether the grandparent was observant but whether his or her birth had been registered with the Jewish community. The grandparent could later even have converted to Christianity but if the grandparent had been registered as Jewish at birth, that for the Nazis was the deciding factor.”The retired academic sought the views of two highly regarded Holocaust historians. Christopher Browning, who has written numerous books on the Holocaust and was an expert witness in the David Irving libel trial in 2000, said: “The issue was not whether the grandparent was observant but whether his or her birth had been registered with the Jewish community. The grandparent could later even have converted to Christianity but if the grandparent had been registered as Jewish at birth, that for the Nazis was the deciding factor.”
Timothy Snyder, who has also written extensively about the Nazis, said: “It did not matter whether the grandparents were observant … No one was saved from persecution, as the wording incorrectly implies, by having grandparents who were not observant.”Timothy Snyder, who has also written extensively about the Nazis, said: “It did not matter whether the grandparents were observant … No one was saved from persecution, as the wording incorrectly implies, by having grandparents who were not observant.”
He added: “As worded, the suggestion is that ‘bad Jews’, ie those with a secular (or even Reform) background, might have been spared from the persecutions that preceded the Holocaust, whereas ‘good Jews’, those with religious (or Orthodox) backgrounds, were the victims. This is nonsense.”He added: “As worded, the suggestion is that ‘bad Jews’, ie those with a secular (or even Reform) background, might have been spared from the persecutions that preceded the Holocaust, whereas ‘good Jews’, those with religious (or Orthodox) backgrounds, were the victims. This is nonsense.”
Browning and Snyder have not contacted the IWM directly but the former academic forwarded their comments to the museum.Browning and Snyder have not contacted the IWM directly but the former academic forwarded their comments to the museum.
In response, Howell told the former academic that she was “unable to engage in any further correspondence” and that pursuit of the issue “risks sowing division among people who really should pull together”.In response, Howell told the former academic that she was “unable to engage in any further correspondence” and that pursuit of the issue “risks sowing division among people who really should pull together”.
The IWM is understood to believe that other information displayed in the Holocaust Galleries makes it clear that the Nazis persecuted all Jews regardless of their religious practice.The IWM is understood to believe that other information displayed in the Holocaust Galleries makes it clear that the Nazis persecuted all Jews regardless of their religious practice.
A spokesperson for the museum said: “IWM takes comments regarding our interpretation very seriously and we acknowledge the points made and the sensitivities regarding this caption.A spokesperson for the museum said: “IWM takes comments regarding our interpretation very seriously and we acknowledge the points made and the sensitivities regarding this caption.
“It is inevitable that, in a history as complex – and sometimes contested – as the Holocaust, questions of interpretation and nuance will be raised by audiences from time to time. The [information board] was rigorously reviewed and edited by IWM’s curators, a number of leading international scholars and members of Jewish communities before being printed.”“It is inevitable that, in a history as complex – and sometimes contested – as the Holocaust, questions of interpretation and nuance will be raised by audiences from time to time. The [information board] was rigorously reviewed and edited by IWM’s curators, a number of leading international scholars and members of Jewish communities before being printed.”