| Abstract [eng] |
This dissertation examines how mnemonic conflicts are represented and expressed in Lithuanian and Lithuanian diaspora non-fiction literature published since 2014 that deals with issues of guilt related to the Holocaust in Lithuania (i.e., books by Julija Šukys, Rita Gabis, Silvija Foti, Rūta Vanagaitė, and Arkadijus Vinokuras). By aligning theories of collective memory studies with historiographical material and applying the concepts of guilt and social conflict to textual analysis, the main elements of mnemonic conflict are identified and it is found that personal and public mnemonic conflicts are most prominent in narratives that ignore the systematic nature of the crimes of the Holocaust and crimes of various kinds are explained by the perpetrator’s free will to choose. Mnemonic conflicts arise from differing definitions of genocide, a hierarchisation of Holocaust crimes, a distrust of the Soviet legal system, and a lack of awareness about the recurrent and continuous nature of collective memory processes. The research showed that the expression of mnemonic conflicts in the texts was impacted by the simplification and decontextualisation of historical events, conflation of levels of guilt (i.e., the guilt of the contemporaries vs the responsibility of the descendants), and interpretations of the past established in interpersonal communication. |
