In The Thick of It: 'high politics' and the Holocaust in millennial Britain

• Published in: Patterns of prejudice Vol. 53; no. 1; pp. 98 - 110
• Main Author: Pearce, Andy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 01-01-2019; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Britain; Holocaust; Holocaust education; Holocaust memory; Holocaust politics; Memory; memory studies; Political history; Political parties; Politics; Scrutiny; United Kingdom > UK
• ISSN: 0031-322X; 1461-7331
• DOI: 10.1080/0031322X.2018.1536352

Over the past twenty years, state-sponsored activities related to the Holocaust have been numerous in Britain. Beginning with the creation of Holocaust Memorial Day at the turn of the millennium, successive governments have followed a policy trajectory that has brought forth a slew of new initiatives and projects related to the Holocaust and its memory. Most recently, this has included the creation of a new national memorial and learning centre, to be housed adjacent to the Palace of Westminster. With cross-party support and the pledge of £50 million of public funds, this lieu de memoire is due to open in January 2020. Conceiving of these activities as exercises in 'high' Holocaust politics, Pearce's article examines the various memory-projects of recent decades and argues they reveal much about millennial Britain and its Holocaust culture. He contends that the nature of these and other initiatives means high Holocaust politics must be subject to continued scrutiny and interrogation.