Description
More than any other medium, film has undoubtedly become the enduring image of the Holocaust as we struggle in our attempt to remember, understand, and come to terms with its lessons in the 21st century. Yet, if we cannot imagine the unimaginable, how can the cinematic image render justice to this definitive event? Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel asks, “Does there exist another way, another language, to say what is unsayable?” Perhaps the medium of film becomes that alternative language that carries the power to depict the horrors and unthinkable tragedy of the Holocaust. The author of over two dozen award-winning books on the Holocaust, Wiesel candidly claims that the alternative language of film proves the camera may “succeed where the pen falters.” As we view and analyze the works of some of the most accomplished directors from Europe and the United States, we will critically examine the three-fold purpose of Holocaust films: The ability to educate, create memory, and act as an i