What are the problems encountered when attempting to construct historical narratives for public history institutions?

1. Problems encountered in creating historical narratives History is merely a list of surprises… Timothy Hensley Virginia Holocaust Museum

2. Virginia Holocaust Museum Founded 1997 Moved into Climax warehouse in 2003 Exhibits are framed around the oral history of the Ipp family

3. Pre-War Anti-Jewish legislation Beginning World War II The Ipp (Ipson) Saga Kovno Ghetto Escape and hiding Killing (Industrialized killing) Liberation Palestine/Israel Nuremberg Trials Museum narrative

4. Problematizing history Untangling and reconstructing historical truth

5. First Thanksgiving?

6. Washington’s Birthplace?

7. Other examples?

8. Historical Problems I Documents were destroyed Inaccessible archives Witnesses were killed or have died since Limited scope of photographic evidence

9. Historical Problems II Languages Funding is available for only specific topics Creates a limited scope VHMis in the wrong geographic area

10. Questions of representation Whose history? Told by whom? For what purpose?

11. Personal narratives (potato hole) VHM’s original text indicated the Ipp family were hiding in the Potato Hole for 9 months.

12. 9 month origins

13. Document Narratives Claims to have killed 137,346 Jews in a five month period (July – Nov 1941) Is there a reason EinsatzkommandoJager might have exaggerated?

14. Fictive Narratives Danish King and the Yellow Star Boy in the Stripped Pajamas Anne Frank The Painted Bird (JerzyKosiński)

15. The genocide divide Can you represent modern genocides “through” a Holocaust narrative framework? What are the complications?