{"id":{"repo_id":"uwo","oai_identifier":"oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/35395"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwo/oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/35395","repository":{"repo_id":"uwo","name":"Western University","base_url":"https://uwo.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Ha-Ha Holocaust: Exploring Levity Amidst the Ruins and Beyond in Testimony, Literature and Film","abstract":"ABSTRACT Jewish humour sheds a crude light on the social, political, and historical realities of the Holocaust. Paradoxically, contentiously, doses of levity during this period were very much a reality, and even a psychological necessity. The purpose of my thesis is to explore the historical, social, and political ramifications of such laughter provoking manifestations. In doing so, the nuances are highlighted which are found within the laughter of the ghettos, the transit camps, and the concentration camps. Furthermore, some of these jokes, and their subsequent variations, reappear within the discourse of children of survivors. The dissertation explores how some of these children use humour to navigate the horrors that their parents experienced. By doing so, parent-child divisions are both highlighted and bridged. Moreover, while classic characters of Yiddish folklore disappeared during the Holocaust, their resurgence within a fictional, quasi-comical Holocaust and post-Holocaust settings, bridges a cultural schism. The reappearance of the dybbuk, of the schlemiel, and of the Chelmites becomes as damning as it is healing. Finally, even the notion of memory is called into question, particularly within popular culture. Humour highlights both the absurdity and the reality, which permeates such a dialogue. While there is little room for political correctness, issues of memory must be addressed and veiling them within a comedic context heightens the relevance while diminishing the threat of repeating or forgetting the Holocaust. In the end, extensive research suggests that the types of levity found within testimonies, (auto)biographies, documentaries, films, graphic novels, fictional prose, television shows and specials act as a psychological and historical portal into the past and the present.","abstract_html":"ABSTRACT Jewish humour sheds a crude light on the social, political, and historical realities of the Holocaust. Paradoxically, contentiously, doses of levity during this period were very much a reality, and even a psychological necessity. The purpose of my thesis is to explore the historical, social, and political ramifications of such laughter provoking manifestations. In doing so, the nuances are highlighted which are found within the laughter of the ghettos, the transit camps, and the concentration camps. Furthermore, some of these jokes, and their subsequent variations, reappear within the discourse of children of survivors. The dissertation explores how some of these children use humour to navigate the horrors that their parents experienced. By doing so, parent-child divisions are both highlighted and bridged. Moreover, while classic characters of Yiddish folklore disappeared during the Holocaust, their resurgence within a fictional, quasi-comical Holocaust and post-Holocaust settings, bridges a cultural schism. The reappearance of the dybbuk, of the schlemiel, and of the Chelmites becomes as damning as it is healing. Finally, even the notion of memory is called into question, particularly within popular culture. Humour highlights both the absurdity and the reality, which permeates such a dialogue. While there is little room for political correctness, issues of memory must be addressed and veiling them within a comedic context heightens the relevance while diminishing the threat of repeating or forgetting the Holocaust. In the end, extensive research suggests that the types of levity found within testimonies, (auto)biographies, documentaries, films, graphic novels, fictional prose, television shows and specials act as a psychological and historical portal into the past and the present.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Atlani, Aviva"],"institution":"The University of Western Ontario","degree_name":"Ph D","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Comparative Literature","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Goldschläger, Alain"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-09-22","date_published":"2014-09-22","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:55:59Z","subjects":["Holocaust","Jewish humour","comedy","jokes","levity","testimony","second-generation survivors","memory","Hitler"],"languages":["en_ca"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/35395","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Goldschläger, Alain"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Atlani, Aviva"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-10T20:37:20Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-10T20:37:20Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2014-09-22"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The University of Western Ontario"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Comparative Literature"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph D"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Holocaust","Jewish humour","comedy","jokes","levity","testimony","second-generation survivors","memory","Hitler"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_ca"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/35395"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["ABSTRACT Jewish humour sheds a crude light on the social, political, and historical realities of the Holocaust. Paradoxically, contentiously, doses of levity during this period were very much a reality, and even a psychological necessity. The purpose of my thesis is to explore the historical, social, and political ramifications of such laughter provoking manifestations. In doing so, the nuances are highlighted which are found within the laughter of the ghettos, the transit camps, and the concentration camps. Furthermore, some of these jokes, and their subsequent variations, reappear within the discourse of children of survivors. The dissertation explores how some of these children use humour to navigate the horrors that their parents experienced. By doing so, parent-child divisions are both highlighted and bridged. Moreover, while classic characters of Yiddish folklore disappeared during the Holocaust, their resurgence within a fictional, quasi-comical Holocaust and post-Holocaust settings, bridges a cultural schism. The reappearance of the dybbuk, of the schlemiel, and of the Chelmites becomes as damning as it is healing. Finally, even the notion of memory is called into question, particularly within popular culture. Humour highlights both the absurdity and the reality, which permeates such a dialogue. While there is little room for political correctness, issues of memory must be addressed and veiling them within a comedic context heightens the relevance while diminishing the threat of repeating or forgetting the Holocaust. In the end, extensive research suggests that the types of levity found within testimonies, (auto)biographies, documentaries, films, graphic novels, fictional prose, television shows and specials act as a psychological and historical portal into the past and the present."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Ha-Ha Holocaust: Exploring Levity Amidst the Ruins and Beyond in Testimony, Literature and Film"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Goldschläger, Alain"],"dc:creator":["Atlani, Aviva"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-07-10T20:37:20Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-07-10T20:37:20Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2014-09-22"],"dc:description":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."],"dc:description.abstract":["ABSTRACT Jewish humour sheds a crude light on the social, political, and historical realities of the Holocaust. Paradoxically, contentiously, doses of levity during this period were very much a reality, and even a psychological necessity. The purpose of my thesis is to explore the historical, social, and political ramifications of such laughter provoking manifestations. In doing so, the nuances are highlighted which are found within the laughter of the ghettos, the transit camps, and the concentration camps. Furthermore, some of these jokes, and their subsequent variations, reappear within the discourse of children of survivors. The dissertation explores how some of these children use humour to navigate the horrors that their parents experienced. By doing so, parent-child divisions are both highlighted and bridged. Moreover, while classic characters of Yiddish folklore disappeared during the Holocaust, their resurgence within a fictional, quasi-comical Holocaust and post-Holocaust settings, bridges a cultural schism. The reappearance of the dybbuk, of the schlemiel, and of the Chelmites becomes as damning as it is healing. Finally, even the notion of memory is called into question, particularly within popular culture. Humour highlights both the absurdity and the reality, which permeates such a dialogue. While there is little room for political correctness, issues of memory must be addressed and veiling them within a comedic context heightens the relevance while diminishing the threat of repeating or forgetting the Holocaust. In the end, extensive research suggests that the types of levity found within testimonies, (auto)biographies, documentaries, films, graphic novels, fictional prose, television shows and specials act as a psychological and historical portal into the past and the present."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/35395"],"dc:language.iso":["en_ca"],"dc:publisher":["The University of Western Ontario"],"dc:subject":["Holocaust","Jewish humour","comedy","jokes","levity","testimony","second-generation survivors","memory","Hitler"],"dc:title":["The Ha-Ha Holocaust: Exploring Levity Amidst the Ruins and Beyond in Testimony, Literature and Film"],"dc:type":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Comparative Literature"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph D"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:55:59Z"}