Miriam E. Frenkel
“Listen...Treblinka”: The Vernacular Use of Holocaust-Related Terms in Contemporary Hebrew
2016 | Full access
This study examines the use of Holocaust-related keywords in colloquial Hebrew conversation. It inquires about the emotional involvement of young Israelis with the Holocaust and its memory as gleaned through their linguistic choice to invoke the Holocaust in discussing mundane, everyday topics. In Israel today, words such as “Shoah” and “Nazi” have become commonplace in the vernacular Hebrew lexicon of the young generation as descriptors applicable to nearly any subject. This study looks at the social connotations of these words, the way they are employed and perceived, and their potential significance for Holocaust-related emotions and remembrance. It proposes that the use of Holocaust terms to describe mundane scenarios is a reaction of young Israelis to the burden of official, State-established Holocaust education and commemoration. Methodologically, the study is comprised of a combination of participant observation and interviews. Observations included not only unmediated conversational contexts but also textual analysis of social media exchanges from within Israel, such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. The findings were divided into the major themes of understanding, emotion, identity, and memory. They support the previous research of scholars such as Dan Porat and Dalia Ofer, which points to the successful attempt of the Israeli governing bodies to establish the Holocaust as central to the identity of future generations of Israeli students through education and commemoration. However, this study suggests that the frequent and often casual use of Holocaust-related terms in everyday conversations among young Israeli adults has added a layer of connotational meanings to these terms. Functioning figuratively as hyperbolic intensifiers, the use of these terms allows speakers to distance themselves emotionally from the subject of the Holocaust. Through the use of this discursively marked self-distancing strategy speakers rebel against the expected behavioral norm that surrounds the official, solemn Holocaust commemoration in Israel. The use of these colloquialisms can be said to be a form of alternative commemoration casually generated by the third generation in Israel today, creating a new generational shared identity marked by patterns of daily interaction rather than high-profile ceremonial occasions.
Supervisor:
Prof. Tamar Katriel