Tyskland och skuldfrågan
En historiografisk och komparativ studie av svensk och tysk Förintelsefacklitteratur, 1996-2010
The present study is primarily of historiographical type, but also uses comparative method and qualitative text analysis. It mainly aims to explore how Germany and the issue of guilt have been portrayed in Swedish and German nonfiction literature (excluding teaching materials) during the years 1996-2010, in the context of the Holocaust, but also makes a comparison between these two countries' depictions. Furthermore, it also examines whether it is possible to link the various depictions to specific theories, in this case determinism together with the actor and structural perspectives, as well as to other potential factors such as the authors' personal connections to the Holocaust or the millennium. In addition, overall trends is an aspect which is examined. Despite the fact that the Holocaust has been the subject of extensive research, no study with the same selection as this one has been carried out before. Previous research presented in the essay therefore has a more general character.The purely historiographical part of the essay shows that the German people are depicted as both perpetrators and victims, but also that Hitler, the SS and the Nazis always have to carry the heaviest burden when it comes to guilt. Furthermore, so-called ?passive actors?, in Swedish as well as German literature, endures a lot of criticism for the way they acted during the Holocaust. In addition, both the actor and structural perspectives are used by all authors in various degrees, while determinism only is discernible in a few cases. The comparison, in turn, indicates that it is usually only minor details that distinguish the Swedish and German authors' depictions. The obvious subjectivity of the subject leads to questions regarding how factual one really can be when writing about such a delicate field as the Holocaust. Why the authors depict the Holocaust in the way they do, is therefore an issue which future researchers may try to answer.