grammar and spelling check |
Asilvering (talk | contribs) Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Archaeology of the Holocaust closed as keep (XFDcloser) |
||
(11 intermediate revisions by 7 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
The '''archaeology of the Holocaust''' is the study of material remains linked to the [[Holocaust]].<ref name="Gilead_Temoigner_1486">{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.4000/temoigner.1486 | doi=10.4000/temoigner.1486 | title=Archaeology of the Holocaust | date=2014 | last1=Gilead | first1=Isaac | journal=Témoigner. Entre Histoire et Mémoire | issue=119 | pages=172–173 }}</ref> This research was initiated at [[Nazi extermination camps]] in Central Europe, but has since been applied across Europe in locations linked to Nazi atrocities and war crimes,<ref name="Sturdy_Collins_Holocaust_Archaeology">{{cite journal | url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/1574077312Z.0000000005 | doi=10.1179/1574077312Z.0000000005 | title=Holocaust Archaeology: Archaeological Approaches to Landscapes of Nazi Genocide and Persecution | date=2012 | last1=Sturdy Colls | first1=Caroline | journal=Journal of Conflict Archaeology | volume=7 | issue=2 | pages=70–104 | s2cid=218645146 }}</ref> as well as in locations where Jewish life and culture was affected during [[World War II]].<ref name="Freund_Archaeology_of_the_Holocaust">{{cite book|title=The archaeology of the Holocaust: Vilna, Rhodes, and escape tunnels|author=Richard A. Freund|date=2019|publisher=Lanham-Boulder-New York-London: Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-5381-0266-4}}</ref> |
|||
{{Unreferenced|date=January 2020}} |
|||
==Treblinka== |
|||
==Development== |
|||
[[Treblinka]], located northeast of Warsaw, Poland, was once a concentration camp that was used to systematically murder nearly one million Jews. Treblinka was the second most deadly extermination camp after Auschwitz. On the grounds of Treblinka, there have been recent archaeological findings of previously unknown gas chambers, artefacts, and mass graves. By examining these discoveries at Treblinka, I hope to present a deeper understanding of the horrors that the Nazis attempted to cover up as a result of their disregard for human life. Additionally, there will be a discovery and exploration of the recent findings of Caroline Sturdy Colls’ excavation at Treblinka. |
|||
Study of the Holocaust is particular within archaeology as it covers an event of the [[late modern period]], and began when persons with direct experience of the events studied were still alive. Although Nazi extermination camps were captured and liberated by the Soviet Red Army in 1943-1945 on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front of World War II]], the full extent of the Holocaust was obscured by [[Sonderaktion 1005|attempts to |
|||
hide and disguise]] evidence of mass murder. |
|||
Judicial investigations linked to the [[Responsibility for the Holocaust#Legal proceeding against Nazis|trials for crimes against humanity]] of Nazis and collaborators studied material evidence of the Holocaust in the 1940s. However these were not performed using archaeological methods and techniques. While some sites linked to the Holocaust and Nazi war crimes have been designated memorials or museums, [[Caroline Sturdy Colls]] estimated in 2011 that "the majority [of sites of the Holocaust] have not been examined archaeologically".<ref name="Sturdy_Collins_Holocaust_Archaeology" /> |
|||
===Recent findings=== |
|||
In the late 1980s, archaeological methods were applied at the site of the [[Chelmno extermination camp]] by museum curator Pawlicka-Nowak. These studies identified previously unknown human remains of victims which were not cremated during the camp's destruction. These findings led to similar research being performed at other extermination and [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]] starting in the 1990s, as well as the archaeological study of sites related to Jewish life and culture during World War II. |
|||
Caroline Sturdy Colls, a Professor Conflict Archeology and Genocide Investigation at Staffordshire University, who specializes in Holocaust studies, led a team of archaeologists in the most recent excavations at the grounds of Treblinka extermination camp (Wikipedia Nov 11). Colls and her team are responsible for unearthing the most compelling archaeological findings at Treblinka in 2011. These discoveries prove the value of archaeology when documenting historical sites, discovering information and details that have been previously unavailable to historians. During this first excavation, project leader Colls discovered that the Nazis had built a fake train station with a ticket counter and clock (Svoboda 2016). Jews who were sent there were told they were going to a transit camp but were actually arriving at one of the largest death camps the Nazis had ever developed. From the Jewish Virtual Library, I learned that the gas chambers and mass graves were discovered from the use of “special, ground-penetrating radar equipment and other advanced technology” (Jerusalem Post 2012). By using this technology, the archaeologists were able to recover information without disturbing the burial grounds, which would violate Jewish laws concerning respectful of the dead, also known as Jewish Halacha Law. |
|||
==Specificities== |
|||
Colls has written her own book, Holocaust Archaeologies: Approaches and Future Directions, and is also one of the authors of Human Remains in Society: Curation and Exhibition in the Aftermath of Genocide and Mass-violence which was published in 2016 and mainly written by Jean-Marc Dreyfus and Élisabeth Anstett. Within these books, Colls explains to her audience what her first-hand experiences were when encountering concentration camp sites. In her own book, Colls writes, “The discovery of one of the gas chambers alongside other evidence has provided new insight into the lengths that the Nazis went to in order to hide their crimes” (Colls 38). The team of archaeologists were shocked to find the deeply hidden evidence of the Nazi’s crimes, and it made them wonder how much more evidence could be hidden. |
|||
Study of the Holocaust presents uncommon challenges in archaeology as a recent event with significant historical and judicial record. The erection of memorials or museums without prior archaeological preservation efforts, as well as religious customs, may restrict access to sites of interest and techniques which are considered appropriate to use.<ref name="Gilead_Temoigner_1486" /><ref name="Sturdy_Collins_Holocaust_Archaeology" /> |
|||
Non-invasive archaeological tools and techniques based on [[geophysical imaging]] such as [[ground-penetrating radar]] and [[electrical resistivity tomography]] are commonly used to overcome these challenges.<ref name="Sturdy_Collins_Holocaust_Archaeology" /><ref name="McClymont_Geo2021_00065_1">{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2021-0065.1 | doi=10.1190/geo2021-0065.1 | title=Preserving Holocaust history: Geophysical investigations at the Ponary (Paneriai) extermination site | date=2022 | last1=McClymont | first1=Alastair F. | last2=Bauman | first2=Paul D. | last3=Freund | first3=Richard A. | last4=Seligman | first4=Jon | last5=Jol | first5=Harry M. | last6=Reeder | first6=Philip | last7=Bensimon | first7=Ken | last8=Vengalis | first8=Rokas | journal=Geophysics | volume=87 | issue=1 | pages=WA15–WA25 | bibcode=2022Geop...87A..15M | s2cid=244222678 }}</ref> |
|||
As for the book that Colls collaborated with Dreyfus and Anstett on, she got a chapter in the book to talk about a through the history of the Holocaust as well as her expertise on concentration camp archaeology. Within this chapter, Colls reveals that in the post-war period only “Shallow excavations were carried out in a small number of areas and, although human remains and other evidence were observed, they were not thoroughly examined” (Colls 172). Colls points out the principal reason why victims of Treblinka had never got justice. The excavations in which took place after the war were forced and rushed, “As a result, the common perception is that the Nazis succeeded in completely obliterating all traces of their crimes in Treblinka” (Colls 173). The archaeologists found broken pieces of the tile while lined the gas chamber walls and had stars of David carved into them. These tiles were red and yellow, and believed to be from the older gas chamber at Treblinka. There were two gas chambers but the smaller one of the two stopped being used after the second bigger chamber was built. Colls had learned previously from a survivor that the Nazis staged the gas chambers to look harmless so that the victims would not struggle to go inside. Colls goes on to say the site was abandoned by the Nazis in 1943 and was not protected until it was levelled to create a memorial in the 1960s. |
|||
Colls and her team used remote sensing technology to detect things underground and put the data together in order to understand what actually happened on the grounds of Treblinka. Over time there have been trees planted over where the former extermination and labour camp areas, which has forced Colls and her team to develop unique surveying techniques. In order to get accurate readings of what was hidden under the ground, LiDAR had to be used. Colls states, “This technique emits multiple laser pulses from a laser scanner mounted on an aircraft, and the return of these pulses can be measured in order to determine the elevations of the ground, structures, vegetation and anything else with which they come into contact” (Colls 177). This technique was especially helpful for recreating the layout of the camp through trees and erosion that has occurred in the last seventy years. Magnetometry, which measures the magnitude and direction of a magnetic field, was also helpful to the archaeologists. It detects any evidence of burning or changes to the Earth’s magnetic field, which could help them find cremated human bodies. The discoveries of mass graves and gas chambers were successfully found while adhering to the Jewish law. |
|||
Colls describes her work at Treblinka as “far from complete” (Colls 186). While Colls and her team have uncovered ground-breaking evidence, there are many limitations to their work including the Jewish Halacha Law. She goes on to state that after finding this evidence, “archaeologists and other professionals are certainly in a better position than ever before to shed new light on the crimes perpetrated during the Holocaust and should rise to the challenge of addressing the ethical issues that will arise when attempting to do so” (Colls 188). Although the bodies and other evidence are out of sight, the need for justice for the victims are just beginning to be served. |
|||
===Conservation=== |
|||
The grounds are currently a memorial for those who were systematically murdered there. It is against Jewish law to disrupt the ground of this essentially large cemetery; therefore, it is a desolate place of mourning. There are occasional gatherings of the decedents of the victims to honour them at the site. Overall Treblinka is reserved as a historical and archaeological heritage monument. |
|||
===Importance and future work=== |
|||
Hundreds of thousands of people died at Treblinka, a fraction of Europe’s population was murdered, and future generations need to be informed of the horrors of the Holocaust so that it never happens again. The Holocaust thrived on propaganda, which launched Hitler into power. In 1943, the Nazis destroyed what they could before leading the remaining prisoners on a death march, during which tens of thousands of prisoners would later die. |
|||
The physical remains of a place constitute a meaningful location in historical memory. If a visitor of Treblinka is Jewish and knows someone who was killed there, they may have a much deeper and more meaningful experience compared to an atheist from America who simply wanted to see the remains in person. Hundreds of thousands of people died at Treblinka, because of this there are limited records of names of its victims. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has a database in which decedents of the victims could attempt to find a record of their relatives. This type of location and horror tends to bring people from different walks of life together to pay respects to the prisoner’s wrongful deaths. Some survivors of Treblinka have come out and spoke about the horrors to inform the world and even to shut down the Holocaust deniers. Sixty-seven people survived Treblinka, but the last living survivor died in 2016, so there is no longer anyone alive who can describe Treblinka from a first-hand perspective. |
|||
Colls has not stopped her work after the 2011 findings and will continue to try and unearth the evidence of the Nazi’s crimes during World War II. Archaeologists may find even more horrific evidence from the Nazi’s attempts to destroy their atrocities. Considering archaeologists continue to find further evidence of the Holocaust seventy years after the fact has left Colls and her team wondering if there is more to discover. Although Colls and here team question their own work. How much of a contribution is it to find this evidence seventy years after the fact? Coll’s team faces some hardships with the restrictions of their excavations. Yet, there are new technological advancements such as LiDAR which benefits both archaeologists and the Jewish Law. |
|||
In contrast, there are many people who believe the Holocaust never happened. These people have made up theories and conspiracies that are not based on any facts. Yet, there is credible, scientific evidence in which historians, as well as archaeologists, base their work on. This is one of the main reasons why these sites should be preserved and studied. Prior to the findings in 2011, Holocaust deniers claimed there was not any evidence of exterminations at Treblinka, and that it was simply a transit camp which moved Jews from Poland to other locations across Europe (Wikipedia November 18). Colls and her team have proved these people wrong and brought to light the true horrors that took place within the barbed wire fences of Treblinka. |
|||
Colls and her team’s archaeological findings changed the course of Holocaust archaeology. Their work also challenged what humanity thought we knew about World War II. Although once a place horror, Treblinka now serves as a memorial for those who seek it. My own narrative is now part of this ongoing documentation of Treblinka that I can share with those looking to seek more information about this sometimes forgotten or ignored human rights tragedy. |
|||
==References== |
==References== |
||
{{Reflist}} |
|||
==Further reading== |
|||
* Svoboda, Elizabeth. “Unearthing the Atrocities of Nazi Death Camps.” Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2016, www.scientificamerican.com/article/unearthing-the-atrocities-of-nazi-death-camps/. |
|||
{{Refbegin}} |
|||
* Pruden, Wesley. “Treblinka Concentration Camp: History & Overview.” History & Overview of Treblinka, Jerusalem Post, 19 Jan. 2012, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/history-and-overview-of-treblinka. |
|||
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BtpGEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Archaeology+of+the+Holocaust%22&pg=PT410 | title=The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Mass Atrocity, and Genocide | isbn=978-1-000-47190-8 | last1=Brown | first1=Sara E. | last2=Smith | first2=Stephen D. | date=22 November 2021 | publisher=Routledge }} |
|||
* Berenbaum, Michael. “Treblinka.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 Aug. 2019, www.britannica.com/place/Treblinka. |
|||
* |
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Im-5DwAAQBAJ | title=Human remains in society: Curation and exhibition in the aftermath of genocide and mass-violence | isbn=978-1-5261-0819-7 | last1=Dreyfus | first1=Jean-Marc | last2=Anstett | first2=Élisabeth | date=5 December 2016 | publisher=Manchester University Press }} |
||
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s10761-017-0437-y |title=Collecting Artifacts on Holocaust Sites: A Critical review of Archaeological Research in Ybenheer, Westerbork, and Sobibor |date=2018 |last1=Schute |first1=Ivar |journal=International Journal of Historical Archaeology |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=593–613 |s2cid=254545035 }} |
|||
* Caroline Sturdy Colls 2015 Holocaust Archaeologies: Approaches and Future Directions. Springer International Publishing Switzerland. |
|||
* {{cite web<!--Deny Citation Bot-->|url=https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/3531/1/SturdyColls12PhD.pdf|title=Holocaust Archaeological approaches to landscapes of Nazi genocide and persecution|first=Caroline |last=Sturdy Colls|date=September 2011|access-date=February 5, 2024|institution=University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository}}<!-- This is a longer version of reference "Sturdy_Collins_Holocaust_Archaeology" --> |
|||
* “Treb04 6002 SF4 Yellow and Red Tile with Star on Underside.” Centre of Archaeology, Department of Humanities and Performing Arts, 29 Aug. 2018, blogs.staffs.ac.uk/archaeology/projects/holocaust-landscapes/genius-and-genocide/finding-treblinka/project-results/preliminary-results-of-the-survey-at-treblinka-ii-the-extermination-camp/treb04-6002-sf4-yellow-and-red-tile-with-star-on-underside/. |
|||
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_3LdBgAAQBAJ&q=Holocaust+Archaeologies:+Approaches+and+Future+Directions | isbn=978-3-319-10641-0 | title=Holocaust Archaeologies: Approaches and Future Directions | date=28 February 2015 | publisher=Springer |first=Caroline |last=Sturdy Colls}} |
|||
* {{cite journal |url=https://doi.org/10.1179/1350503315Z.00000000092 |doi=10.1179/1350503315Z.00000000092 |title=Uncovering a Painful Past: Archaeology and the Holocaust |date=2015 |last1=Sturdy Colls |first1=Caroline |journal=Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites |volume=17 |pages=38–55 |s2cid=218661892 }} |
|||
* {{cite web |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unearthing-the-atrocities-of-nazi-death-camps |title=Unearthing the Atrocities of Nazi Death Camps |website=[[Scientific American]]|first1=Elizabetha|last1=Svoboda|last2=Sapiens|date=April 30, 2016|access-date=February 5, 2024}} |
|||
{{Refend}} |
|||
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Poland]] |
|||
[[Category:Historical archaeology]] |
[[Category:Historical archaeology]] |
||
[[Category:Holocaust historiography]] |
[[Category:Holocaust historiography]] |
Latest revision as of 04:38, 10 February 2024
The archaeology of the Holocaust is the study of material remains linked to the Holocaust.[1] This research was initiated at Nazi extermination camps in Central Europe, but has since been applied across Europe in locations linked to Nazi atrocities and war crimes,[2] as well as in locations where Jewish life and culture was affected during World War II.[3]
Development
Study of the Holocaust is particular within archaeology as it covers an event of the late modern period, and began when persons with direct experience of the events studied were still alive. Although Nazi extermination camps were captured and liberated by the Soviet Red Army in 1943-1945 on the Eastern Front of World War II, the full extent of the Holocaust was obscured by attempts to hide and disguise evidence of mass murder.
Judicial investigations linked to the trials for crimes against humanity of Nazis and collaborators studied material evidence of the Holocaust in the 1940s. However these were not performed using archaeological methods and techniques. While some sites linked to the Holocaust and Nazi war crimes have been designated memorials or museums, Caroline Sturdy Colls estimated in 2011 that "the majority [of sites of the Holocaust] have not been examined archaeologically".[2]
In the late 1980s, archaeological methods were applied at the site of the Chelmno extermination camp by museum curator Pawlicka-Nowak. These studies identified previously unknown human remains of victims which were not cremated during the camp's destruction. These findings led to similar research being performed at other extermination and concentration camps starting in the 1990s, as well as the archaeological study of sites related to Jewish life and culture during World War II.
Specificities
Study of the Holocaust presents uncommon challenges in archaeology as a recent event with significant historical and judicial record. The erection of memorials or museums without prior archaeological preservation efforts, as well as religious customs, may restrict access to sites of interest and techniques which are considered appropriate to use.[1][2]
Non-invasive archaeological tools and techniques based on geophysical imaging such as ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography are commonly used to overcome these challenges.[2][4]
References
- ^ a b Gilead, Isaac (2014). "Archaeology of the Holocaust". Témoigner. Entre Histoire et Mémoire (119): 172–173. doi:10.4000/temoigner.1486.
- ^ a b c d Sturdy Colls, Caroline (2012). "Holocaust Archaeology: Archaeological Approaches to Landscapes of Nazi Genocide and Persecution". Journal of Conflict Archaeology. 7 (2): 70–104. doi:10.1179/1574077312Z.0000000005. S2CID 218645146.
- ^ Richard A. Freund (2019). The archaeology of the Holocaust: Vilna, Rhodes, and escape tunnels. Lanham-Boulder-New York-London: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-0266-4.
- ^ McClymont, Alastair F.; Bauman, Paul D.; Freund, Richard A.; Seligman, Jon; Jol, Harry M.; Reeder, Philip; Bensimon, Ken; Vengalis, Rokas (2022). "Preserving Holocaust history: Geophysical investigations at the Ponary (Paneriai) extermination site". Geophysics. 87 (1): WA15–WA25. Bibcode:2022Geop...87A..15M. doi:10.1190/geo2021-0065.1. S2CID 244222678.
Further reading
- Brown, Sara E.; Smith, Stephen D. (22 November 2021). The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Mass Atrocity, and Genocide. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-47190-8.
- Dreyfus, Jean-Marc; Anstett, Élisabeth (5 December 2016). Human remains in society: Curation and exhibition in the aftermath of genocide and mass-violence. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1-5261-0819-7.
- Schute, Ivar (2018). "Collecting Artifacts on Holocaust Sites: A Critical review of Archaeological Research in Ybenheer, Westerbork, and Sobibor". International Journal of Historical Archaeology. 22 (3): 593–613. doi:10.1007/s10761-017-0437-y. S2CID 254545035.
- Sturdy Colls, Caroline (September 2011). "Holocaust Archaeological approaches to landscapes of Nazi genocide and persecution" (PDF). University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- Sturdy Colls, Caroline (28 February 2015). Holocaust Archaeologies: Approaches and Future Directions. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-10641-0.
- Sturdy Colls, Caroline (2015). "Uncovering a Painful Past: Archaeology and the Holocaust". Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites. 17: 38–55. doi:10.1179/1350503315Z.00000000092. S2CID 218661892.
- Svoboda, Elizabetha; Sapiens (April 30, 2016). "Unearthing the Atrocities of Nazi Death Camps". Scientific American. Retrieved February 5, 2024.