Curating the Holocaust: Exhibiting National Memory in Austria and France

Abstract

This study examines how Holocaust memory is constructed and presented through memorials and museum exhibits in Austria and France. It analyzes how institutions define “the Holocaust,” the typologies of commemoration they employ, and the ways history is structured within those spaces. It argues that these spaces are not neutral sites of preservation but instead actively shape national and international narratives through their curatorial choices. The way history is presented within these spaces reflects how each nation has come to understand its role in the Holocaust. Part of a larger study across many countries, this thesis examines how the Holocaust is remembered and how those memories are shaped within museum spaces using a comparative analysis of four sites in Austria and France as key case studies. These four Holocaust-related institutions are valuable sites for analysis due to their contested postwar narratives. Neither country fits neatly into the categories of perpetrator, victim, or liberator. While countries such as Germany, Poland, and the United States align more clearly with these wartime roles, Austria and France occupy a more ambiguous position shaped by histories of occupation, collaboration, and contested responsibility. Austria initially advanced the “first victim” narrative, minimizing complicity, while France emphasized resistance and national unity, downplaying collaboration under the Vichy regime. Although both countries have since publicly acknowledged their wartime roles and postwar collective memory, earlier memory frameworks continue to shape exhibition strategies. Austrian institutions tend to emphasize documentary evidence and a restrained presentation, while French institutions employ more immersive, emotionally charged techniques, situating collaboration within a broader narrative of occupation and resistance. This contrast suggests that earlier national and international narratives continue to shape design, tone, and interpretive approach, even as both countries publicly acknowledge their respective roles. This study contributes to scholarship on Holocaust memory and museum studies by demonstrating that national memory culture continues to shape how the Holocaust is exhibited. Collective memory evolves through political discourse, public narratives, and institutional representation. Museums both reflect and shape these shifts. As the generation of Holocaust survivors passes, museums are central to how future generations encounter this history, making these curatorial choices even more significant.