Date of Award

Summer 5-8-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

History

College

College of Humanities and Fine Arts

First Advisor

Amanda M. Brian

Abstract/Description

This study examines the multi-modal methods of memorialization of female Holocaust victims as well as women's absences in Holocaust memorialization. It identifies patterns of representation and omission, examines which histories are preserved, and evaluates gaps in gender-based Holocaust memorials. For this study, memorialization encompasses not only honoring victims but also shaping historical narratives through data and artistic expression. Because the Holocaust targeted men, women, and children within certain categories of Nazi-identified enemies, its memorialization presents a complex dynamic; however, existing narratives and memory practices often prioritize male experiences.

This study examines key methods of memorializing female victims that play a vital role in gender-based research and discovery. Through an analysis of artistic representations at such places as the Ravensbrück National Memorial, the North Carolina Women’s Holocaust Memorial, the Sydney Jewish Museum, and Israeli Shoah memorials, this project explores how gendered narratives emerge in Holocaust remembrance. Artistic expression is a dominant form of memorialization. However, artistic memorialization of female Holocaust victims has led to implied stereotypes, geographic representations, and glorification. This examination links art, memory, advocacy, consolidation, and gender-based views of victimization.

While these art forms are important and provide moments of reflection, the data and histories, and personal experiences that have been ignored are prominent to understanding the horrors women faced in the Holocaust. The Holocaust was not what scholars call a gendercide, i.e., gender was not a category of persecution at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators, yet women of various backgrounds, cultures, and identities found themselves in the deadliest spaces of the Holocaust. While not being persecuted based on their gender, women experienced unique camp brutality, imprisonment, and sexual violence, yet their stories are inadequately captured and displayed in the artistic renderings of these histories and lived experiences. By highlighting overlooked histories and stereotypes in artistic memorialization, this study contributes to a more inclusive understanding of Holocaust memory and gendered victimization. I argue that despite women accounting for approximately half of the victims in the Holocaust, the lack of gender-based analysis of the Holocaust has resulted in underrepresentation or misrepresentation of female Holocaust victims in practices of memorialization.

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