Treblinka

On August 2nd, 1943, a revolt occurred at an extermination camp called Treblinka. Two hundred prisoners escaped. Forty survived the war. Nine were interviewed by French Jew Jean-Francois Steiner.

The result of conducting the interviews and other research was Treblinka, a social realistic novel that functions as an intensely provocative representation of the Holocaust.

In Treblinka, Steiner makes a praiseworthy attempt to respect those Jews who lost their lives during the Holocaust and challenge traditional perspectives of the Jews as victims. Steiner demonstrates powerfully what few other Holocaust writers who have not lived through the Holocaust can grasp—the concept of Jewish heroism during the Holocaust. The psychological and emotional hardships the Treblinka Jews endured as they rose from the depths of despair was enormous, yet they remained resilient in their extraordinary resolve to pursue life at all costs. This is the message of Treblinka.

When I read Treblinka, I was astounded by the contents of the novel. Some opinions Steiner reveals in the novel are outrageous, such as his accusations of the Jews were complicit with the Nazis in exterminating their brethren. As I read the book, however, I realized that Steiner’s goal was not to shame the Jewish race. Rather, Treblinka serves Steiner’s goal of chronicling distinctively Jewish heroism.

To learn more about the concept of Jewish heroism during the Holocaust, please read the paper I wrote analyzing Jewish heroism in Treblinka:
Recovering Lost Heroism

I have also written a handout that summarizes the key points of the paper:
Recovering Lost Heroism Handout

In addition, please visit Grove City College’s Student Research Showcase website to view pictures from the showcase where I presented a poster about the paper I wrote.  THe poster is available on the website:
Student Research Showcase

In addition to presenting my research at the Showcase, I will also be presenting Recovering Lost Heroism at a poster session during the annual Pennsylvania Communication Association Conference. The conference is located at East Stroudsburg University and will take place October 22-23. Please see the link to their website:
Pennsylvania Communication Association

Please also see these resources. They are several of the secondary sources I researched as I wrote Recovering Lost Heroism:
David Bond: Fact as Fiction
Barbara Foley: Fact, Fiction, Fascism
Rene Poznanski: A Holocaust Controversy Review
Elie Wiesel: Art and the Holocaust
Richard Glazar: A Letter to Jean-Francois Steiner

Treblinka itself and A Holocaust Controversy: The Treblinka Affair in Postwar France, a book which documents the controversy that erupted in France as a result of the publication of Treblinka, are unavailable online in full text. Reviews of Treblinka nad excerpts from A Holocaust Controversyare available on Google Books, however:
Samuel Moyn: A Holocaust Controversy: The Treblinka Affair in Postwar France
Jean Francois Steiner: Treblinka

Steiner’s novel has given me a passionate desire to learn more about the Holocaust and educate others about what happened. The lives of  survivors of the Holocaust who can testify to the atrocities of the event are coming to an end. Because of this, I believe representations of the Holocaust are more important now that they ever were.