The “Holocaust by Bullets”
Ingrao, Christian
The “Holocaust by Bullets” - 2009.
60
Over the last two years, Father Desbois’ inquiry on "Holocaust by Bullets" in Ukraine has had exceptional media coverage in France. In this paper, the main argument is not to criticize Father Desbois’ investigation, which brings a lot to the subject in spite of some limitations, but to question the media coverage. Most media –?television, radio, newspapers–? and even the book Porteur de Mémoires have portrayed Father Desbois as a sort of hero dedicated to the duty of memory. He is celebrated for having revealed an allegedly unknown aspect of the Holocaust: the massive extermination of Soviet Jews by German firing squads. Such an heroic view neglects more than sixty years of public debates, judicial procedures and historical research on the crimes perpetrated in the Soviet Union by the Einsatzgruppen and other German units implicated in the "Final Solution." This rhetorical exercise of "discovery" is a worrisome example of a scoop-oriented popularization of history.
The “Holocaust by Bullets” - 2009.
60
Over the last two years, Father Desbois’ inquiry on "Holocaust by Bullets" in Ukraine has had exceptional media coverage in France. In this paper, the main argument is not to criticize Father Desbois’ investigation, which brings a lot to the subject in spite of some limitations, but to question the media coverage. Most media –?television, radio, newspapers–? and even the book Porteur de Mémoires have portrayed Father Desbois as a sort of hero dedicated to the duty of memory. He is celebrated for having revealed an allegedly unknown aspect of the Holocaust: the massive extermination of Soviet Jews by German firing squads. Such an heroic view neglects more than sixty years of public debates, judicial procedures and historical research on the crimes perpetrated in the Soviet Union by the Einsatzgruppen and other German units implicated in the "Final Solution." This rhetorical exercise of "discovery" is a worrisome example of a scoop-oriented popularization of history.
Réseaux sociaux