Inspiration

One of the classifications of witnessing outlined by Boltanski in his work Distant Suffering that I did not mention in my paper was the aspect of sublimation. According to Boltanski, a witness who utilizes this quality “dares to cast his eyes on the unfortunate and look evil in the face without immediately turning away towards imaginary benefactors or persecutors. He allows himself to be taken over by the horrific.”

I wanted to the chance to present this element in my webpage, as I believe that Holocaust deniers refuse to utilize this aspect of the witnessing process. They turn away towards the different players of the Holocaust rather than absorbing the pain and horrific nature of various representations. Thus, in the following pages I will present attempts to sublimate the events of the Holocaust.