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Abstract: Synthesizing Durkheim's notion of "sacred symbol" with Walter Benjamin's theorization of "authenticity," this paper proposes the theoretical construct, "authentic symbol," to account for the symbolic function of Holocaust relics in contemporary Holocaust pilgrimage. The symbolic function of four kinds of relics (the sites, witness/survivors, human bodily remains and accessories) is examined and compared in three different contexts: The March of the Living Holocaust tours organized for Diaspora Jewish teenagers, the Masa tours organized for Israeli teenagers and the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. Different ritual experiences are found to predominate in each of the three contexts, which significantly correlate with how symbols are processed by participants and the different ideological and practical aims of the tours and displays.
Keywords: Holocaust tours, symbols, relics, authenticity
Résumé: Résumé. Employant un synthèse de la notion Durkheimienne de "symbole sacrée" avec la théorisation de Walter Benjamin au sujet de "l'authenticité," cet article propose une construction théorique nouvelle, "symbole authentique," pour expliquer la fonction symbolique des reliques de la Shoah dans les pèlerinages contemporains vers les sites du Holocauste. La fonction symbolique de quatre types de reliques (les sites-mêmes, les témoins/survivants, les débris humains et les accessoires) est considérée et comparée en trois contextes différents: les visites "Marche des vivants" organisées pour les adolescents juifs du diaspora, les visites Masa organisées pour les adolescents israéliens et le musée de la Shoah à Washington, D.C. Chaque contexte offre une expérience rituelle prédominante et différente, ce qui corrèle au traitement des symboles par les participants et les buts différents et idéologiques et pratiques de chacun des visites et des expositions.
Mots clés: pèlerinages du Holocauste; symboles; reliques; l'authenticité
Introduction
As religion is an "eminently "social thing," in which ".. .the quality of if* sac redness..." is the observable product of collective doing" (Fields 1995: xxxiv), the components of religious life change along with the structural and ideological exigencies of societies. In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (EFRL), Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) predicted that religions and their symbols would transform to meet future social needs when "...new ideals...[will] emerge to guide humanity... in future...hours of creative effervescence" (EFRL: 429-430). Indeed, Durkheim, the French republican advocate of universal individual rights (Fournier 2007: 370, 376-378), liad witnessed in his own day ".....