How have texts studied in this elective challenged your ways

of thinking about History and Memory?

Make detailed to your prescribed text and at least ONE other related text
of your own choosing.
That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of
all the lessons that history has to teach. !erhaps in recognising man"s failure to take
heed of his fellow man# $ldous %uxley was recognising that humans lack the
capability to learn vicariously. &or in history# through its emphasis on the superficial
analysis of documents and archival data# the experience of individuals are lost. This
highlights the variations of the past, for moments in time may
encompass both sufering and triumph. Mark Bakers The Fiftieth
Gate, set against the backdrop of the Holocaust, uses history as a
vehicle to verify his parents memories. Confronted by enias
uni!ue past, ho"ever, Baker must relin!uish his rudimentary need
for factual veri#cation, and accept the legitimacy of personal
memory. The $mithsonian %nstitutions "ebsite, September 11:
Bearing Witness to History and &oman 'olanskis documentary
Pianist: A Story of Survival, also e(plore the intimate connection
bet"een history and memory. T"o accounts of the past, ho"ever,
are rarely alike, manipulated by the biases of personal e(perience.
Therefore, history is not an ob)ective analysis of the past, rather a
representation of individual and collective memory.
The past is not finite# as The Fiftieth Gate highlights# it is a world marked by shifting
perceptions and contrasting moments of suffering and triumph. $s a testimony to the
importance of memory on subse'uent existence# (aker achieves a coalescence of past
and present. Though wrought with a duality of roles# as the son of %olocaust victims#
and an historian# (aker feels compelled to side with a chosen medium. )ith history
affecting his life from an early age# 'uantifying and validating his parents" past
became his obsession. *n imbuing the text with the clinical# impersonal tone of
statistics and archival data *n +,-.# founded by (ishop (oguslaw/ (aker creates a
rift in the relationship with his parents. 0enia and 1ossl# dismissive of his pro2ect#
mock his obsession fecks# fecks. %owever# as the process continues# a
transformation begins whereby (aker changes course# * knew then * had to wrap
myself in the details of her story# if only immunise myself against the thing that lay
there/ becoming more participatory.
*n testament to the fluidity of truth and of history# The 3mithsonian *nstitution"s
website and !olanski"s film# Pianist: A Story of Survival# reveals truths through the
coalescence of individual accounts. Melding the personal testimonies of 34pliman#
!olanski and his family# one thing that is burned in my mind is the arm band with the
star of 5avid# with archival images and historical data about the )arsaw 0hetto# the
composer recreates and validates truths from the perspective of %olocaust victims.
The interplay of history and memory is shown as black and white footage which
melds into a scene from The Pianist# through an explosion which coexists in both
shots. More overt with its connection to the individual# September 11: Bearing
Witness to History# has victims recount their stories# presenting their own sentimental
artefact. !enny Elgas is one such victim who presents# an airplane fragment in a
patriotic box# with an accompanying rationale. %er intimate account reveals the
fallibility of memory# $pparently# * made several cups of tea that * don"t remember
making because later that day * found four sopping teabags lined up on my kitchen
counter# but her personal testimony also gives the text veracity and authenticity#
which could not be achieved through historical data. 3erving as both history and
memory# these artefacts physically manifest the experiences of individuals. )hile
memory is often fragile# short term and highly sub2ective# it epitomises the depth of
understanding that emotion adds to history. The 3mithsonian *nstitution"s website# as
(aker comes to recognise as a necessity# accentuates the perspective of individuals.
The human dimension of memory manifests the notion that the past encompasses
more than archival data and statistics.
$uthenticity and verifiable details make history a more reliable narrative of human
experience. Though access to the truth is more tangible when it is gleaned through the
memories of personal experience # rather than sifted through historical data and
artefacts. (aker achieves a melding of the two so that research verifies and bears out
the verbal histories of those who were there. Though !olanski is sceptical of these
notions * mean there is no ultimate truth in it because nobody can really/ you can"t
explain it in anyway so the truth is very difficult to get at. (ut whatever the truth is in
you of that sub2ect and one# you have to be true to that truth# realising that 6truth is
idiosyncratic to the individual# formed by their personal memories and experiences.
%owever# in realising that 6truth" cannot represent a cohesive entity# he attempts to
present his own perspective and experience as closely as possible /1ou can"t start
glamourising it# you can"t start to soften it# you have to tell it as you believe it is. %e
also tries to incorporate history and not be manipulated by his own memories and
emotions which can distort events. *t was going to be very flat# it was going to be
realistic. Much like 0enia and 1ossl# !olanski"s memories have become distorted by
time7 )e had sometimes very funny or heated discussions where * was always trying
to prove that there was some kind of discrepancy. %e is adamant in his own
representation of history# which has become irrevocably flawed through his emotions
which have coloured his world view.
!ersonal memories enable a means with which to enshrine the lessons of the past for
the present generation. 8onfirmed through (aker"s 2ourney into the gates of the
heart# the study of history facilitates a more comprehensive understanding of the
nature of human existence7 highlighting a growth in personal knowledge and moral
development. Metaphorically# the fiftieth gate is where light hovers inside the
darkness. *nside the broken heart# and only upon reaching this stage can one attain
the highest knowledge of 0od# or an enhanced self awareness and acceptance.
Mirrored in September 11: Bearing Witness to History# is the growth of knowledge
and moral development through the 2ourney into the past. *n revealing that the tour is
now complete and the exhibition is permanently closed/ the composer suggests that
the victims have reached their 6fiftieth gate". This is reflected in the use of a white
background# which symbolises the light and coincides with Mark"s closing phrase /
it always begins in blackness# until the first light illuminates a hidden fragment of
memory/
The melding of history and memory attempts to gain an accurate
representation of truth. Based on the senses, the memory is
fragmented, thus history serves to forge reality "ith individual
e(perience. Therefore, the perceived dry, academia of history and
the emotive memory, form a relationship to imbue the te(t "ith a
believable, yet engaging representation of the past.