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Wagner’s Emblematic Role: The Case of Holocaust Commemoration in Israel

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Richard Wagner for the New Millennium

Part of the book series: Studies in European Culture and History ((SECH))

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Abstract

No need for fine distinctions here. There is no doubt that in the popular mind Wagner has become the classic symbol of anti-Semitism and the spiritual father of Nazism. There is nothing to argue about here, and we could line up a thousand proofs, but even if we don’t agree, this is what happened and it is an inalienable part of the culture of the State of Israel. The first boycott of Wagner was begun by the people in the art world themselves, by the Philharmonic Orchestra of the State of Israel, when, after Kristallnacht, it canceled its performance of a Wagner piece. This means that the musicians themselves felt they just could not do it.2

This pronouncement by Knesset Member Shaul Yahalom at the opening of a special meeting of Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee highlighted Wagner’s unique status in Israeli culture as a symbol of anti-Semitism in general and National Socialism in particular—and accordingly as a part of the Israeli collective memory of the Holocaust. The subtext of Yahalom’s speech was as interesting as the speech itself.

This article originally appeared in a somewhat different form as Na’ama Sheffl, “Between Collective Memory and Manipulation: The Holocaust, Wagner and the Israelis,” Journal of Israeli History 23, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 65–77. Used by permission.

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Authors
  1. Na’ama Sheffi
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Editor information

Matthew Bribitzer-Stull Alex Lubet Gottfried Wagner

Copyright information

© 2007 Matthew Bribitzer-Stull, Alex Lubet, and Gottfried Wagner

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Sheffi, N. (2007). Wagner’s Emblematic Role: The Case of Holocaust Commemoration in Israel. In: Bribitzer-Stull, M., Lubet, A., Wagner, G. (eds) Richard Wagner for the New Millennium. Studies in European Culture and History. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230607170_8

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