"The Evacuation still proceeds..." GR Part 1 Section 1

[Tim Strzechowski]

My statement was in response to Rob's assertion that "the fact still remains that the ‘the Final Solution of the Jewish Question’ enacted by the SS in the Nazi death camps [...] is nowhere described or referred to in the novel."

The literary work may not concern itself directly with the Nazi death camps, but it obviously *does* concern itself with a period in history when the treatment of those in labor camps often led to death.  Consequently, I see little difference between terms like "labor camp" and "death camp" unless the point of the discussion is to note specifics (e.g., Dora was technically a camp for production, whereas Auschwitz was a camp for extermination).  But certainly, violent death was ubiquitous in these camps, regardless of their intended purpose.

I disagree with Rob's assertion because literary text brings with it the ability to arouse reader associations and, if a text deals with the Nazi labor camps (as GR does), it stands to reason that readers may likewise find resonances of the Holocaust as well.  That's all part of the experiences we bring to a text, isn't it?

Might one not assume that Pynchon, as author, was fully aware of the resonances that his narrative would have amongst readers?  To answer Paul's question, while it is possible to portray the Nazi's at war w/o portraying the (offstage) Final Solution, we should also recognize that such a portrayal brings with it suggestions of Holocaust regardless.  I am assuming a writer worth his craft (like Pynchon) is likewise aware of that. To say that "‘the Final Solution of the Jewish Question’ enacted by the SS in the Nazi death camps [...] is nowhere described or referred to in the novel" seems, to me, to limit the potential for literary discourse. 

Not trying to start a fight in the first pages of the Group Read, folks.  Just trying to clarify some ground rules, is all.

Respectfully,

Tim



> 
> I don't really understand this statement. Could you clarify what you 
> mean? 
> 
> Are you saying saying that it would be impossible to portray the 
> Nazis at war without also somehow portraying (off stage?) the Final 
> Solution? This would seem to me to be a very extreme position, even 
> though slave labor did play its part for the Axis side. 
> 
> It is clear to everyone, isn't it, that the war between the Allies 
> and the Axis powers was NOT over the Final Solution. Rather, it was 
> that the Nazi war machine had consumed much of Europe, at one point 
> almost to the point of an all out invasion of the British Isles. The 
> fate of Europe was in the balance. The attempt on the part of the 
> Allies to reverse the disastrous situation would have been the case 
> with or without the Death and Labor camps. And the effort of the 
> Nazis to hang on until the bitter end would also have been the same 
> with or without them. 
> 
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