Narrating the Holocaust

Few Holocaust survivors attach any meaning to camp life itself. Yet, most agree that the difficulties of coping with the misery and its lingering memories were eased if some purpose - whether in the form of physical or psychological resistance or of hope for a future life, reunited with their loved ones - could be found. Many survivors turned to writing about their experiences.Reiter shows how survivors who were professional authors adapted certain literary genres, while non-professional writers-the vast majority-related their experiences in report form. A comparison between these memoirs and the more frequently discussed camp novels identifies the different narrative strategies.