Preserving Memory 1-166

Preserving Memory by Edward Linenthal explores the enormous undertaking of building a memorial to a catastrophic event in world history. He describes the nuts and bolts that accompany the creation of such a memorial and does so through exploring primary accounts from those involved and by researching the process that began in the 1980s. Through his work, he shows how bureaucratic and how difficult creating history for the public can be through the event of the Holocaust. Last week’s readings on sharing authority set the stage for this book quite nicely, yet Linenthal portrays the truth of the process and the trials and tribulations that accompany such an undertaking.
This book and its author successfully illustrate the immense difficulties that occurred within this enormous process and how each side dealt with the weight of the issue. He gives equal notice to the Jewish and non-Jewish sides of the debates. He uses direct quotes from council members, victims, government officials and documents, and many other primary sources to illustrate just how tedious the process was at this time. Through his research, he shows the successes, the trials, and the arguments surrounding this time period. While at times the process of the book becomes repetitive, it was successful in showing the trials of public history and the strain that the process can have on historic events. It illuminates the high and the low points of public history through the eyes of the Holocaust Memorial’s creation in Washington D.C.
Linenthal describes the sensitive issue involved and the many road blocks the council, the government, and those surrounding the event faced. He repetitively covers the time from the beginning of idea conception to the first ground breaking for the memorial. Representing an event of this magnitude, that also happens to be controversial, is an excellent example of the strain a historian can have in representing the facts without trivializing those involved or disrespecting the event in any way, shape, or form. Those involved on the Jewish side of the debate commented regularly on the issue of not allowing the Holocaust to be swept into a political bureaucracy or by being misrepresented. Those on the other side created arguments that all victims should be involved in a memorial and that perhaps America was not an appropriate place for such a memorial.
Linenthal’s book places last week’s readings and understanding of sharing authority into a real life context. The National Holocaust Museum was constantly dealing with the effects of not only being respectful and appropriately honoring those who had died because of the Holocaust but also with the U.S. government and with the public as a whole. The issues between Elie Wiesel, the U.S. bureaucracy, the American public, the Polish-American community, the Jewish-American community and many others showed the issues that arise through shared authority and through public history. Linenthal’s ability to show this reality of public history and of memorializing an event is a historical success and an asset to the field.