Abstract for 2008 Honors Colloquium
Mea Geizhals
Self-Designed
"Holocaust Memory Studies: The Case of the Jewish Museum in Munich, Germany"
The Jewish Museum in Munich, Germany opened in March 2007 in St.-Jakobs-Platz next to the Ohel Jakob synagogue and the Jewish Community Center of Munich. I am interested not only in how the Museum acts as a memorial to the Holocaust, but also in how the Museum, which is a secular and public space, interacts with its two closest neighbors, the synagogue and community center which are both religious and private spaces. Furthermore, my research investigates the role that the Museum plays in the political relationship between the Jewish community and the non-Jewish German community. My Colloquium program will present findings from my recent research trip to Munich and further outline the theoretical questions guiding my thesis.
