Recollection In Still Alive

An opinion that was discussed in class that I agree with is, when learning about the Holocaust, it is more authentic to visualize and reconstruct the past through a personal recollection rather than be provided with images. I believe that the content of these personal recollections is dependent on the length of time past between the experience and the recollection. More specifically, the passage of time leads to more emotional memories being mentioned, as was briefly discussed by Ruth Kluger in her novel Still Alive (2001) (Kluger 34). As opposed to Kluger’s view that emotional memories are merely remembered better, I believe that this content changes with time because the more general, over-arching details of the Holocaust became well known

In The Last Days (1998), five Hungarian survivors give their accounts of their experiences in an interview-style format without showing many images from the 1940’s. The majority of the content is examples of surprising and touching moments, like the scene described by survivor Renée Firestone in which she saw her father for the last time. They briefly locked eyes from afar across the camp, and thus their final images of each other were as prisoners. This heart-touching scene, among many others in this film, is aimed at evoking the emotions of the audience, which in turn promotes a positive rating of the film. However, this also adds to the viewer’s knowledge and interpretations of the Holocaust since these aspects cannot be found in the average historical recount, just as Kluger did in her novel. I believe that, in recalling the Holocaust, the author’s decision to leave out certain elements with the intent to please their immediate audience actually adds to the viewer’s knowledge of the events. Those who documented their experiences many years later included less broad details than those who released theirs immediately afterwards. This is beneficial to the viewers of today and of future generations because it allows us to gain additional, intimate knowledge of these tragic events, which is important in preserving the memory and dignity of the