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Memory Unbound

The Holocaust and the Formation of Cosmopolitan Memory

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK - STONY BROOK, USA dalevy{at}ms.cc.sunysb.edu

Natan Sznaider

THE ACADEMIC COLLEGE OF TEL AVIV-YAFFO, ISRAEL natan{at}serverm.soc.mta.ac.il

This article analyzes the distinctive forms that collective memories take in the age of globalization. It studies the transition from national to cosmopolitan memory cultures. Cosmopolitanism refers to a process of `internal globalization' through which global concerns become part of local experiences of an increasing number of people. Global media representations, among others, create new cosmopolitan memories, providing new epistemological vantage points and emerging moral-political interdependencies. The article traces the historical roots of this transformation and outlines the theoretical foundations for the emergence of cosmopolitan memories through an examination of how the Holocaust has been remembered in Germany, Israel and the USA in the course of the last fifty years. It is precisely the abstract nature of `good and evil' that symbolizes the Holocaust, which contributes to the extra-territorial quality of cosmopolitan memory. As such, memories of the Holocaust contribute to the creation of a common European cultural memory.

Key Words: collective memory • cosmopolitan memory • European memory • globalization • Holocaust

European Journal of Social Theory, Vol. 5, No. 1, 87-106 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/1368431002005001002


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