The Moral Witness: Trials and Testimony after Genocide (Corpus Juris: The Humanities in Politics and Law)

The Moral Witness is the first cultural history of the "witness to genocide" in the West. Carolyn J. Dean shows how the witness became a protagonist of twentieth-century moral culture by tracing the emergence of this figure in courtroom battles from the 1920s to the 1960s―covering the Armenian genocide, the Ukrainian pogroms, the Soviet Gulag, and the trial of Adolf Eichmann. In these trials, witness testimonies differentiated the crime of genocide from war crimes and began to form our understanding of modern political and cultural murder. By the turn of the twentieth century, the "witness to genocide" became a pervasive icon of suffering humanity and a symbol of western moral conscience. Dean sheds new light on the recent global focus on survivors' trauma. Only by placing the moral witness in a longer historical trajectory, she demonstrates, can we understand how the stories we tell about survivor testimony have shaped both our past and contemporary moral culture. "[This book] is the first cultural history of the 'witness to genocide' in the West. Carolyn J. Dean shows how the witness became a protagonist of twentieth-century moral culture by tracing the emergence of this figure in courtroom battles from the 1920s to the 1960s, covering the Armenian genocide, the Ukrainian pogroms, the Soviet Gulag, and the trial of Adolf Eichmann. In these trials, witness testimonies differentiated the crime of genocide from war crimes and began to form our understanding of modern political and cultural murder. By the turn of the twentieth century, the 'witness to genocide' became a pervasive icon of suffering humanity and a symbol of western moral conscience. Dean sheds new light on the recent global focus on survivors' trauma. Only by placing the moral witness in a longer historical trajectory, she demonstrates, can we understand how the stories we tell about survivor testimony have shaped both our past and contemporary moral culture." -- Publisher's description

The Moral Witness is the first cultural history of the "witness to genocide" in the West. Carolyn J. Dean shows how the witness became a protagonist of twentieth-century moral culture by tracing the emergence of this figure in courtroom battles from the 1920s to the 1960s—covering the Armenian genocide, the Ukrainian pogroms, the Soviet Gulag, and the trial of Adolf Eichmann. In these trials, witness testimonies differentiated the crime of genocide from war crimes and began to form our understanding of modern political and cultural murder.

By the turn of the twentieth century, the "witness to genocide" became a pervasive icon of suffering humanity and a symbol of western moral conscience. Dean sheds new light on the recent global focus on survivors' trauma. Only by placing the moral witness in a longer historical trajectory, she demonstrates, can we understand how the stories we tell about survivor testimony have shaped both our past and contemporary moral culture.

The Moral Witness Maps The Emergence Of A 'witness To Genocide' Over A Century, From Its Origins In Interwar Court Trials To The Jewish Holocaust Survivor And To Today's Global Witness, Who Represents New Obligations To Suffering Humanity At Home And Abroad-- The Witness As Righteous Avenger : The Tehlirian And Schwarzbard Trials, 1921 And 1927 -- The Concentration Camp Witness : The Libel Cases Of Victor Kravchenko And David Rousset, 1949 And 1951 -- The Holocaust Survivor Witness : The Eichmann Trial -- The Global Witness And The Counter Witness. Carolyn J. Dean. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. __The Moral Witness__ is the first cultural history of the "witness to genocide" in the West. Carolyn J. Dean shows how the witness became a protagonist of twentieth-century moral culture by tracing the emergence of this figure in courtroom battles from the 1920s to the 1960s―covering the Armenian genocide, the Ukrainian pogroms, the Soviet Gulag, and the trial of Adolf Eichmann. In these trials, witness testimonies differentiated the crime of genocide from war crimes and began to form our understanding of modern political and cultural murder. The Moral Witness 1 Contents 6 List of Illustrations 8 Introduction 12 One The Righteous Avengers / The Tehlirian and Schwarzbard Trials, 1921 and 1927 37 Two The Camp Survivor / The Libel Cases of Victor Kravchenko and David Rousset, 1949 and 1950–51 72 Three The Holocaust Witness / The Eichmann Trial and Its Aftermath 102 Four The Global Victim and the Counterwitness 143 Conclusion 182 Acknowledgments 192 Index 194 "The Moral Witness maps the emergence of a 'witness to genocide' over a century, from its origins in interwar court trials to the Jewish Holocaust survivor and to today's global witness, who represents new obligations to suffering humanity at home and abroad"-- Provided by publisher