Author Alan Mintz’s gives her opinion of the status of Holocaust memory in America. He focuses on four different essays. Every essay talked about in Popular Culture and the Shaping of Holocaust Memory in America approaches the subject of the Holocaust from a very different direction. I have realized that with there being four different essays, there barely is any connection between them all besides the fact it has to deal with the Holocaust. With this book, understanding and viewing the essays as one helps to understand the culture and shaping of the Holocaust memory in America. In my summary, I summarize each chapter individually because it bounces from one topic of the Holocaust to the next without any connection. The first essay, From Silence to Salience, is straightforward and talks about the history of the development of Holocaust awareness. This…show more content… He has individuals and different groups give their thought on how they interpret the lessons and the legacies of the Holocaust. Mintz also wanted them to know that this is a process and to really think about it. Another thing that Mintz talks about in the final chapter is he calls for scholars to talk about the memory of the Holocaust. He wants them to critique the use and abuse the Holocaust to give some thought to the Holocaust memories that they wish to construct. Mintz's argument is the observation that the Holocaust brings people enjoyment, even with the terrible events that happened in the Holocaust. With this last chapter as well relates back to the first chapter on why the cultural of the Holocaust has been growing. One of the last things Mintz mentions and talks about is if you want to know and are worried with the memory of the Holocaust, do not force the shape in which it is going. He implies that if you focus the way it is going it will not be long until it fades and amnesia
