Laughter after : humor and the Holocaust

Argues that humour performs political, cultural, and social functions in the wake of horror. Examines what is at stake in deploying humour in representing the Holocaust. Namely, what are the boundaries? As the generation of survivors dwindles, there is great concern among scholars and community leaders about how memories and lessons of the Holocaust will be passed to future generations. Examines case studies from World War II to the present day in considering and reconsidering what role humour can play in the rehabilitation of survivors, of Jews and of the world more broadly. More recently, humour has been used to investigate the role that Holocaust memory plays in contemporary societies, while challenging memorial conventions around the Holocaust and helping shape the way we think about the past. In a world in which Holocaust memory is ubiquitous, even if the Holocaust itself is inadequately understood, it is perhaps not surprising that humor that invokes the Holocaust has become part of the memorial landscape.