The Eye of the Beholder: Photography in the Holocaust

Recording date: 2022-11-24
Join us at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum on 24 November as our Head of Education Dr Simon Holloway explores photography and the Holocaust.
One of the most ubiquitous sources that historians of the Holocaust deal with is the photograph. Whether of individual people or of groups, such images capture moments in time that can be used to inform our understanding of the history. Like all sources, however, they cannot be taken at face value. What are some of the questions that we need to ask whenever we are looking at a photograph, and what are some of its inherent limitations?
In this session, we will consider different types of photographs taken during the Holocaust - both those that were taken by individuals sympathetic to the victims, and those that were taken by perpetrators. In doing so, we will seek to develop a framework to better understand both the power and the limitations of photography as an historical source.