Dr Ludivine Broch and Dr Itay Lotem are helping a broad global audience understand the true complexities of World War Two and the Holocaust.
World War Two and the Holocaust are among modern history’s most talked of events. Despite this, many Europeans and Americans know little about either – and the information they do have is often littered with inaccuracies.
Dr Ludivine Broch and Dr Itay Lotem are helping to broaden understanding of this important historical moment. Bringing fresh angles and perspectives to light, they have effectively engaged the media to provide complex counter narratives.
Working with the Imperial War Museum
Dr Broch’s book Ordinary Workers, Vichy and the Holocaust (2016) challenges the polarised images of French railwaymen produced in the popular imagination through cinema and television. Such media initially depicted them as heroic resisters of the Nazi occupiers of France, and, later, as keen collaborators in the Holocaust. Broch’s research uncovered the complex dynamics of engagement with the Vichy regime in the everyday lives of these ordinary railway workers, providing a more nuanced picture of the reality of the situation.
During the £30.5 million revamp of the Second World War and Holocaust Galleries at the Imperial War Museum (IWM), the Curator of the Holocaust Galleries approached Broch to assist “as a leading academic in this field to improve our own understanding and knowledge and for direction and advice on the information to include in the text for the galleries”.
Audience research undertaken by the IWM “revealed gaps in knowledge about the Holocaust, particularly its connection to the Second World War”, and so the Curator sought to “show the levels of active participation that the Holocaust required from thousands of individuals and organisations” under the cover of the War.
In this connection, Broch used her unique research knowledge of the French railway workers to help the IWM develop their educational provision. This work included the sharing of key archives uncovered by Broch, as well as her general expertise on railway deportation, for the creation of an audio-visual piece for permanent display at the Holocaust Galleries, which attracts more than a million visitors each year, based entirely on her “accurate and nuanced” research findings.
Building bridges between Germany and US Jewish communities
Dr Lotem’s research traces back the relationship between France’s modern-day anti-racism movements and how its history of colonialism, slavery and anti-Semitism – including the Holocaust – should be remembered.
Through his participation in Germany’s government-backed reconciliation programme Germany Close Up – American Jews Meet Modern Germany, Lotem has helped build bridges between Germany and Jewish communities in the United States.
Lotem gave four introductory lectures in 2017 and 2018, to four separate groups of 16 to 27 North American Jewish students, providing an overview of German history from 1870 to the present. Many students knew little about Germany beyond its 12-year Nazi rule and participants’ feedback confirmed the lectures were “a transformative experience”, which “helped them overcome preconceptions”.
“Our group had a lively debate about German history which opened my eyes to how difficult it is to really assess its history,” said one student.
This new understanding was evident during later visits to a concentration camp, the Programme’s Coordinator says. “Participants were able to use information and ideas that they had learnt in these history talks to make sense of the emotional experiences of the following days.”
Dr Lotem’s talks were helpful in instilling an atmosphere of openness, which later contributed to further debates these groups had.
– The Programme Coordinator of Germany Close Up – American Jews Meet Modern Germany
Fresh perspectives on a familiar story
The IWM audience research found that “the commonest source of visitors’ knowledge was film and television, which led to stereotypical understandings of the Second World War”.
Dr Broch has supported several media projects striving to buck this “stereotypical understanding”. These included the popular 2017 Discovery Channel series World War II: Witness To War, which streams globally, targeting a broader, younger demographic than typical WW2 documentaries. Director Adam Donneky praises Broch’s “fresh perspective” and her ability to turn complex research into compelling, accessible ideas. This “helped me find new angles that were key in making the series a success”.
Broch’s recent research on the story of the Gratitude Train has also attracted media attention. In 1949, the Gratitude Train travelled across America’s then-48 states, delivering 52,000 gifts from French citizens as a mark of gratitude for the US’s wartime assistance. This unique, little-known chapter in a familiar story, inspired episodes of two separate BBC Radio 3 programmes, Words and Music and Free Thinking, which is available globally as a BBC Arts & Ideas podcast.
I was looking for a way to mark the anniversary of VE day and the Second World War with some original programming which looked at this period of history in a fresh way. The research undertaken on the Gratitude Train was a totally new story to me.
– BBC Producer of Words and Music and Free Thinking.
Media producers have also frequently approach Dr Lotem to draw on his expertise in the complexities of racism across the past century, particularly with respect to historic parallels with the far-right extremism of modern-day Europe. As well as featuring on the BBC’s News Channel, Lotem has written several analysis pieces for the Huffington Post and the New Statesman.
Lotem was quoted at length as the main contributor to a France24 article over the nation’s hijab debate and “culture wars”, in which he contextualised these topics within the historical continuities of racism and secularism in France. Key to Lotem’s effectiveness is his ability to translate complex research into relatable commentary and to connect it to modern day issues.
Find out more
Connect with Ludivine Broch
Connect with Itay Lotem
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