| Popis: |
This chapter presents Belarus and Ukraine as case studies to examine how postsocialist states have shaped their Holocaust histories to secure the continuing political legitimacy of the ruling elites. The major theme of Belarusian governments since 1995 is that Belarus deserves sovereignty because it is the “partisan republic,” the country that resisted the Nazis ferociously, courageously, making the greatest sacrifices. In Jewish and Israeli literature, Jewish partisans in Belarus are depicted as resisters to the Holocaust and heroes. However, when one examines memoirs and oral testimonies by Jewish partisans one finds many testimonies to the capriciousness of partisan commanders, theft, rapes, desertion, betrayal, drunkenness, corruption, and licentiousness. Accounts such as these, bringing to light antisemitism, ethnic tensions, and arbitrary behavior among the partisans, do not appear in Soviet or post-Soviet Belarusian literature. The chapter then considers the role of national myths and national history in guiding individual and collective behavior. |
