The Politics of Identification: "Holocaust" and West German Drama

Since it was produced for a US audience, the American tv series had a totally unanticipated and unintended impact in West Germany. Commentary following the showing there hailed it as the media event of the decade. In the heated debates preceding the telecast, however, was condemned by critics of all political camps as a cheap popularization of complex historical processes which could not possible help the Germans come to terms with their recent past. The tremendous emotional impact of the series, which went far beyond that of any of the earlier film, tv and theater productions on the same subject matter, led a number of critics to change their mind and certainly vindicated those few who had argued in favor of telecasting in West Germany in the first place. But the majority of left and left liberal critics was unable to come to terms with the scope of the emotional explosion triggered by the series. Their arguments stressed that the melodramatic and sentimental treatment of clouded the real issues and prevented spectators from understanding German history. The Left especially was adamant in criticizing the series for not providing a total historical explanation of National Socialism, capitalism, and anti-Semitism. At the same time it was argued that the series' success could and should be used to start a post campaign of rational political enlightenment which would focus on the roots of anti-Semitism and, more importantly, on the social, economic and ideological roots of National Socialism under which the problem of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust could then safely be subsumed.