Genocidal Narratives in Children’s Picturebooks: The Politics of Memory and the Poetics of History

Rosy- Triantafyllia Angelaki, AUTH

Genocide refers to violent crimes committed against groups with the intent to destroy them. It is associated with mnemonic strategies and identity politics through which the inflicted groups define themselves and serves as an example of the contestation of the past. Genocide is a politically charged term. Its ambiguity either leads to its misuse and the degradation of the uniqueness of specific cases, or it excludes certain acts from the protection of international law, particularly crimes against humanity involving the organized plan of extermination of specific population groups. Also, conflicts arise around which atrocities are to be recognized as genocide. In Greek society and History, there are debates about the recognition and “regionalization” of the a) Genocide of Pontic Greeks, b) Genocide of Greeks in Asia Minor, c) Genocide of Greeks in Eastern Thrace, while the Armenian Genocide is also a matter of concern. This presentation examines Greek and French children’ s picturebooks that broach the genocidal discourse and the subjects of atrocity, war, racism, and death and analyzes them from critical positions in reference to concepts of the “child” and “childhood”. Drawing on the scholarly literature concerning (i) the multidisciplinary nature of genocide, (ii) the framework of limitations within which authors of children’s literature of atrocity should work (Minslow, 2017), and (iii) the suggested perimeters for evaluating children’s books about genocide (Gangi, 2014), we analyze picturebooks for novice readers that offer historically accurate versions of the Pontic, Asia Minor and Armenian Genocide, and examine if they manage to educate readers without traumatizing them; how do the verbal and visual narratives “activate remembrance and reactivate the trauma of loss” (Hirsch, 2012); which ideologies are being challenged or reinforced; and if children’s literature about genocide can inspire social change, even to readers that do not belong to the affected communities.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 53. Structures and Infrastructures of Childhood