Children during the Holocaust: Analysis of the narrative line of the exhibition at the Jewish Museum Berlin.

Abstract

How does the Jewish Museum Berlin (JMB) present the stories of the youngest participants in the Second World War? What role do children play in the narrative of the museum? Do the curators of the exhibition devote a separate space to them or are the children’s fates ‘inscribed’ in the overall message about history? I set out to address these questions in the article by undertaking research to analyse the narrative approach of the JMB. I examine how the museum constructs the messages it presents to its audiences and explore the composition and content of the exhibition, the tangible and intangible heritage gathered within it, and the possible meanings of the various elements of the exhibition. This research reveals that the Holocaust story presented at the JMB is one centred on the interruption of life, loss, and suffering, with a strong focus on the perspectives of the civilian victims of genocide.