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Katie Digan

Universiteit Gent, History, PhD Candidate in History

Trinity College Dublin, Department of History, Alumna

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, History Department, Alumna

University of Groningen, History, Alumna

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See also:
http://ghhpw.com/katie-digan.php
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/katie-digan/29/425/2a1

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• 4 Papers
• 2 Books
• 1 Drafts

Papers by Katie Digan

The just-add-water Holocaust experience (Historisch Erfgoed)

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Space and place of memory: the case of the Haus am Großen Wannsee 56-58

Edit

'Space and place of memory: the case of the Haus am Großen Wannsee 56-58’

Stefan Berger and Joana Seiffert ed., Erinnerungsorte: Chancen, Grenzen und Perspektiven eines Erfolgskonzeptes in den Kulturwissenschaften , Sep 1, 2014

DownloadEdit

The just-add-water Holocaust experience. Creating instant historical experiences in Holocaust museums and memorials with authentic historical objects.

The idea that history needs to be felt or experienced in order to be learned or remembered has in... more The idea that history needs to be felt or experienced in order to be learned or remembered has increasingly been popping up in current day Holocaust memorials and museums. A key element in this kind of representation of the past is the use of ‘authentic’ artifacts, objects that -by virtue of their ‘having been there’- not only present evidence of the past, but also function as tangible leftovers of that past. Because historical artifacts are, quite literally, pieces of the past that are present in the present, they are often believed to have special status, or what Aleida Assmann has called Magie der Dinge. In this piece, I will take a closer look at this Magie by analyzing the status of historical artifacts using Walter Benjamin’s writings on ‘aura’. I will show that authentic objects do not radiate a story into the present but need to be placed in a narrative in order to make sense. Secondly, I will look at the narrative of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and way in which authentic artifacts are used to attempt to give visitors an experience of the past. Finally, I will argue that purposely creating a ‘direct’ experience of the Holocaust is not only impossible, but that it is also undesirable.

DownloadEdit

Books by Katie Digan

‘The Activist Jew’ Responds to Changing Dutch Perceptions of Israel

As criticism of Israeli politics in the Dutch media grew in the 1970s, so did increasing suspicio... more As criticism of Israeli politics in the Dutch media grew in the 1970s, so did increasing suspicion about the loyalties of the Jews in the Netherlands. Oftentimes, all Jews, regardless of their nationality or political preferences, were seen as supporters of Israeli politics. Criticising Israel therefore easily translated into criticising Jews. As a result, Dutch Jews were held responsible for what happened in Israel and a dangerous slippery slope between legitimate political criticism and antisemitism took shape. This slippery slope was one of the causes of several public debates in the Dutch media. Navigating between legitimate criticism of Israeli politics on the one side and flat-out antisemitism on the other, the discussions about Israel were muddled and tainted by a perceived interchangeability of ‘Israel’ and ‘Jews’. It resulted in Jewish sensitivities regarding critical reports on Israel as well as a framing of Israel within a well-established context of Jewish stereotypes. Unsurprisingly, these differing viewpoints clashed, and especially the postwar generation of young Dutch Jews made their protests public. In this chapter, I will discuss three instances of Dutch Jews publicly protesting reporting on Israel that they considered anti-Israel or antisemitic. Through these case studies, I will attempt to show the rise of Jewish activism as a response to the changes in Dutch public opinion on Israel.

Final version published in: Evelien Gans and Remco Ensel ed., The Holocaust, Israel and 'the Jew’: Histories of Antisemitism in Postwar Dutch Society (Amsterdam University Press 2016) pp. 241-258.

DownloadEdit

Places of memory: The case of the House of the Wannsee Conference (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014)

In 1942, a group of high-ranking Nazis came together in a villa in Berlin to discuss the Final So... more In 1942, a group of high-ranking Nazis came together in a villa in Berlin to discuss the Final Solution during what is now called the Wannsee Conference. Fifty years later that same villa was turned into a memorial site and museum for one of the most infamous episodes of the history of the Holocaust. Today, hundreds of people a day visit the house to learn about its history. Why did it take so long for the house to become a ‘site of memory’? And what happened to the house in the meantime? This book takes the case of the House of the Wannsee Conference as a beginning point to investigate how and why buildings and places transform from regular places to ‘carriers of memory’. How can a house become haunted by its past? And why do we visit historical places to get a sense of the past?

DownloadEdit

Drafts by Katie Digan

CfP: 3rd INTH network Conference: “Place and Displacement: The Spacing of History” Stockholm, August 20th–22nd, 2018

by Berber Bevernage, Katie Digan, and Marek Tamm

Call for papers

DownloadEdit

The just-add-water Holocaust experience (Historisch Erfgoed)

Edit

Space and place of memory: the case of the Haus am Großen Wannsee 56-58

Edit

'Space and place of memory: the case of the Haus am Großen Wannsee 56-58’

Stefan Berger and Joana Seiffert ed., Erinnerungsorte: Chancen, Grenzen und Perspektiven eines Erfolgskonzeptes in den Kulturwissenschaften , Sep 1, 2014

DownloadEdit

The just-add-water Holocaust experience. Creating instant historical experiences in Holocaust museums and memorials with authentic historical objects.

The idea that history needs to be felt or experienced in order to be learned or remembered has in... more The idea that history needs to be felt or experienced in order to be learned or remembered has increasingly been popping up in current day Holocaust memorials and museums. A key element in this kind of representation of the past is the use of ‘authentic’ artifacts, objects that -by virtue of their ‘having been there’- not only present evidence of the past, but also function as tangible leftovers of that past. Because historical artifacts are, quite literally, pieces of the past that are present in the present, they are often believed to have special status, or what Aleida Assmann has called Magie der Dinge. In this piece, I will take a closer look at this Magie by analyzing the status of historical artifacts using Walter Benjamin’s writings on ‘aura’. I will show that authentic objects do not radiate a story into the present but need to be placed in a narrative in order to make sense. Secondly, I will look at the narrative of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and way in which authentic artifacts are used to attempt to give visitors an experience of the past. Finally, I will argue that purposely creating a ‘direct’ experience of the Holocaust is not only impossible, but that it is also undesirable.

DownloadEdit

‘The Activist Jew’ Responds to Changing Dutch Perceptions of Israel

As criticism of Israeli politics in the Dutch media grew in the 1970s, so did increasing suspicio... more As criticism of Israeli politics in the Dutch media grew in the 1970s, so did increasing suspicion about the loyalties of the Jews in the Netherlands. Oftentimes, all Jews, regardless of their nationality or political preferences, were seen as supporters of Israeli politics. Criticising Israel therefore easily translated into criticising Jews. As a result, Dutch Jews were held responsible for what happened in Israel and a dangerous slippery slope between legitimate political criticism and antisemitism took shape. This slippery slope was one of the causes of several public debates in the Dutch media. Navigating between legitimate criticism of Israeli politics on the one side and flat-out antisemitism on the other, the discussions about Israel were muddled and tainted by a perceived interchangeability of ‘Israel’ and ‘Jews’. It resulted in Jewish sensitivities regarding critical reports on Israel as well as a framing of Israel within a well-established context of Jewish stereotypes. Unsurprisingly, these differing viewpoints clashed, and especially the postwar generation of young Dutch Jews made their protests public. In this chapter, I will discuss three instances of Dutch Jews publicly protesting reporting on Israel that they considered anti-Israel or antisemitic. Through these case studies, I will attempt to show the rise of Jewish activism as a response to the changes in Dutch public opinion on Israel.

Final version published in: Evelien Gans and Remco Ensel ed., The Holocaust, Israel and 'the Jew’: Histories of Antisemitism in Postwar Dutch Society (Amsterdam University Press 2016) pp. 241-258.

DownloadEdit

Places of memory: The case of the House of the Wannsee Conference (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014)

In 1942, a group of high-ranking Nazis came together in a villa in Berlin to discuss the Final So... more In 1942, a group of high-ranking Nazis came together in a villa in Berlin to discuss the Final Solution during what is now called the Wannsee Conference. Fifty years later that same villa was turned into a memorial site and museum for one of the most infamous episodes of the history of the Holocaust. Today, hundreds of people a day visit the house to learn about its history. Why did it take so long for the house to become a ‘site of memory’? And what happened to the house in the meantime? This book takes the case of the House of the Wannsee Conference as a beginning point to investigate how and why buildings and places transform from regular places to ‘carriers of memory’. How can a house become haunted by its past? And why do we visit historical places to get a sense of the past?

DownloadEdit

CfP: 3rd INTH network Conference: “Place and Displacement: The Spacing of History” Stockholm, August 20th–22nd, 2018

by Berber Bevernage, Katie Digan, and Marek Tamm

Call for papers

DownloadEdit

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