Yizkor books, Communal Commemoration, and Universal Martyrdom

Yizkor books are a special kind of memorial books published from 1943 on to commemorate Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust, which themselves were the result of communal activity. The books were published by various organizations and individuals, mainly in Israel but also in the US, Argentina, and other places. The books are filled with texts, poems, prayers, and photographs, commemorating life in the communities before and during the Holocaust. In this session, we will look at Yizkor books and, in particular, at a specific element of their commemoration of Holocaust victims that is quite unique: the idea that all victims of the Holocaust were martyrs, regardless of their life and circumstances.

Session holder

Lior Becker is an interdisciplinary scholar focused on Holocaust and genocide studies, Jewish history, and memory studies. He moved to Sweden from Israel in 2012 and holds a PhD in history from Uppsala University.

Photo: Lior Becker