Working Through the Holodomor Discursively: Memory, Trauma and the Representation of Ukrainian Genocide Victims from the 1950s until the Early Twenty-First Century
Files
(Thesis)
Date
2022
Authors
Westin, Elise
Editors
Advisors
Edwards, Natalie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Thesis
Citation
Statement of Responsibility
Conference Name
Abstract
The Ukrainian Holodomor of 1932-33 resulted in the deaths of millions of people from starvation, execution and deportation to labour camps, which unsettled the foundations of Ukrainian culture and society. Those who survived were further divided and displaced by the events of World War II, during which a large proportion of the peasantry endured forced labour in Germany. Those who avoided repatriation to the Soviet Union at the end of the War formed diaspora communities in various parts of the West, where a small number gave testimony about their experiences of the Holodomor. This thesis examines testimonial literature in Ukrainian diaspora communities to understand how representations of victims have evolved from the 1950s to the twenty first century, and what this evolution can tell us about a collective trauma process. Drawing on theories from the fields of memory, literary, and trauma studies, the thesis closely analyses five key texts in Holodomor survivor literature. The findings indicate that intertextuality, or rather, the ways in which survivors draw on existing memories, narratives and myths in their attempts to make sense of traumatic experiences, is central to the process of working through trauma. Meanwhile, interruptions to this process, for example, in the form of memory laws, state-enforced silence, and other interventions, can slow or halt the process, and communities can remain trapped within a pattern of acting out trauma. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the ways in which nations can work through trauma discursively and poses questions for further research.
School/Discipline
School of Humanities
Dissertation Note
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2022
Provenance
This electronic version is made publicly available by the University of Adelaide in accordance with its open access policy for student theses. Copyright in this thesis remains with the author. This thesis may incorporate third party material which has been used by the author pursuant to Fair Dealing exceptions. If you are the owner of any included third party copyright material you wish to be removed from this electronic version, please complete the take down form located at: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/legals