Writing the Holocaust: Fiction and Non-fiction

Course Programme

10:00 Digital Heritage and Writing about Nazi persecution and the Holocaust (Dr Gilly Carr)
11:15 Coffee
11:45 A Nazi in the Family: Reading the Holocaust from a perpetrator perspective (Derek Niemann)
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Finding the Words: Writing fiction about the Holocaust (Kim Sherwood)
15:15 Tea
15:30 Of Men and Mice and Striped Pyjamas (James Jordan)
16:45 Day school ends

The first lecture by Gilly Carr introduces students to key sources of archival material relating to Nazi persecution and the Holocaust in Britain. She also demonstrates her website, which tells the story of many Britons (specifically those from the German-occupied Channel Islands) who were deported to Nazi prisons, labour camps and concentration camps.

Derek Niemann then addresses the difficult issue of telling a story that doesn't want to be told. He reveals how he pieced together the evidence of his grandfather's life and weaved it into a narrative. The research relied on both documented material and the recollections of those still alive to tell their part in this salutary tale. He also explores the sensitivities in writing the book and reactions to its publication.

Kim Sherwood then considers the critical, creative, and ethical issues involved in writing fiction about the Holocaust. Focusing on questions of (in)comprehensibility, (in)communicability, representation, and the role of research in the creative process, she will discuss the choices and experiences that shaped her debut novel, Testament.

Finally, James Jordan will end the day by introducing students to some of the most canonical of Holocaust texts, moving from memoirs by Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel, to the commix of Art Spiegelman and the popular - but academically unpopular - recent fiction of John Boyne.

Accommodation
Although this is a non-residential course, students requiring accommodation may be able to book B&B at Madingley Hall, as availability permits. Please contact reservations@madingleyhall.co.uk or +44 (0)1223 746222 for availability and booking enquiries.

Dietary Requirements
If you have any specific dietary requirements or allergies please inform our Admissions Team on ice.admissions@ice.cam.ac.uk or +44 (0)1223 746262 if you have not already advised us of your requirements.

Additional Requirements
Further information about student support

No academic qualification is required of applicants, and most courses are suitable for students who are new to the subject.

All teaching is in English (unless a foreign-language course). If your first language is not English, you need to satisfy yourself that you have the required near-native command of the language to get the maximum benefit from studying with ICE.

A booklist, course syllabus and detailed timetable are circulated as far as possible in advance of a course. You will receive these documents by email if you have provided us with your email address; please check your spam folder if you have not received these documents. You can also download material from the course web page.

About Madingley Hall

Madingley Hall itself is an impressive manor house dating back to the mid-16th century. The decoration of the Saloon and the formal Stair Hall was carried out 200 years later, and the whole fabric was renovated with great care around 1900. About four miles from the centre of Cambridge, the Hall stands in several acres of beautifully-maintained gardens and overlooks a landscape which has changed relatively little since it was laid out by Capability Brown. It is just four miles from the centre of Cambridge, and only 60 minutes from London, with excellent links to London airports.

Directions to Madingley Hall