The writing of Holocaust history has fuelled heated debates among historians regarding the legitimacy and credibility of sources. Research into the Holocaust has been a very sensitive topic, such that asking Holocaust survivors to recollect their traumatic memories can raise ethical concerns about the way in which the Holocaust is represented. Despite these ethical limitations, factual accuracy is imperative in order to attain a comprehensive understanding of the Holocaust, which has since been predominately constructed on eyewitness accounts. These representations of the Holocaust are often hegemonic narratives of collective memory which can repress alternative perceptions in order to contribute to an agreed homogenised interpretation of the event.…show more content… Browning’s Remembering Survival: Inside a Nazi Slave-Labour Camp questions the factual accuracy of historic sources in studying the Holocaust, and stresses the necessity of using survivor testimony, not just official documents, to deepen our knowledge of the Holocaust. Browning stresses that historians must not only consider evidence from ‘above’ but also evidence from ‘below’. By adopting this micro-historical approach, Browning argues that we can formulate an integrated and accurate representation of the Holocaust. By examining Benjamin Meed’s survivor testimony and the diary entries of two Jews present during the Holocaust, this essay will address the importance of a micro-historical and critical approach to Holocaust discourse. In doing so, this essay will demonstrate the significance of triangulating a wide body of eyewitness accounts to expose hidden truths of the
