Objects of Atrocity: Material Culture and the Challenges of Difficult Histories

Authors

• Robert M. Ehrenreich, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
• Jane E. Klinger, ICOM International Committee for Memorial and Human Rights Museums
• Gabriel H. Pizzorno, Harvard University
• Caroline Sturdy Colls, University of Huddersfield

Files

Page Count

362

Language

English

Description

The vast majority of people throughout history have left few written traces. That is especially the case for those who were brutally forced from their homes, stripped of their possessions, and swiftly imprisoned, enslaved, or murdered. Objects of Atrocity: Material Culture and the Challenges of Difficult Histories addresses how we return humanity to these people in order to avoid their erasure from history. Academics and practitioners from a variety of disciplines and cross-disciplinary approaches grapple with the challenges and possibilities relating to the collection, conservation, storage, and display of objects in the aftermath of mass atrocities. This collection confronts a range of difficult histories including the Holocaust; the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, former Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Kurdistan; the incarceration of Japanese Americans; and a diverse range of crimes committed against Native Americans, African Americans, Roma, and Sinti people. The goal of this volume is to restore the dignity of these people and communities through the examination of the material culture left behind.

ISBN

9781626712348

Publication Date

Summer 6-15-2026

Publisher

Purdue University Press

City

West Lafayette

Keywords

difficult histories, material culture, Holocaust studies, genocide studies, 9/11, Cambodia, Rwanda, conservation, Yazidi, Japanese-American Incarceration camps, Dachau, Theresienstadt, Native Americans, African-American History, Former Yugoslavia, artistic practice, mass atrocities, museum studies, memory studies, memorialization, memorials, personal belongings, survivors, survivors, victims, Copyright Holder: Purdue University Press

Disciplines

European History | History | Holocaust and Genocide Studies

Comments

Open access publication of this title is supported by Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies.

Recommended Citation

Ehrenreich, Robert M.; Klinger, Jane E.; Pizzorno, Gabriel H.; and Colls, Caroline Sturdy, "Objects of Atrocity: Material Culture and the Challenges of Difficult Histories" (2026). Purdue University Press Books. 120.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/purduepress_ebooks/120