Open AccessThe Canadian Media and the ‘Discovery’ of the Holocaust, 1944-1945
Author(s) -
David Goutor
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
canadian jewish studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1916-0925
pISSN - 1198-3493
DOI - 10.25071/1916-0925.19813
Subject(s) - the holocaust , newspaper , nazism , genocide , antisemitism , skepticism , neglect , prejudice (legal term) , media studies , criminology , media coverage , political science , history , law , sociology , psychology , judaism , politics , philosophy , archaeology , epistemology , psychiatry
This article examines both the extent and nature of the coverageof the Holocaust in five major English Canadian newspapersand two magazines, from May 1944 to June 1945. Although themedia did pay attention to the Holocaust at certain times, on thewhole the genocide was inadequately covered by the Canadianpress. The media’s neglect cannot be explained sufficiently bya climate of skepticism towards reports of atrocities. Rather, themedia tended to focus on the most sensational and incredibleaspects of reports of Nazi brutality. The lack of coverage is atleast partially explained by antisemitism. This prejudice canbeen seen in a paradox in the press reports: although the mediadid write about the Holocaust, they seemed intent on downplayingthe suffering of European Jews.