Holocaust Objects

Abstract

As with all museums, the IWMHE uses tangible remnants of the past to provide 'evidence' of a historical 'truth.' Objects are used to anchor a narrative through the display, collected in accordance with the institutional collection policy. For the IWM, collections are formed on the basis of its remit to document all conflicts involving Britain and the commonwealth and 'to provide for, and to encourage, the study and understanding of the history of modern war and "wartime experience".' 1 It is within this context that material relating to the Nazi persecution and murder of the Jews of Europe is interpreted. This chapter aims to illuminate the process of material selection within the IWM, and to explore in greater depth how this material has been interpreted within the framework of a British national museum of warfare. It considers the relationship between cultural memory and objects, exploring the construction of Holocaust memory in the national museum through surviving material remains, much of which arrived at the IWM from other Holocaust museums and archives. This chapter explores how the Holocaust story is both shaped and legitimised through Holocaust objects and contributes towards a problematisation of the term 'Holocaust object.' How are Holocaust objects defined and categorised? And what does this mean for the long-term survival of such material? An object's significance is illustrated by its inclusion within a