Trajectories in Holocaust tourism

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how tourists engaged in atrocity heritage tourism embark in processing meanings, community discourse and motivations when faced with increasing levels of hostility. Specifically, this research examines how Jewish Holocaust tourists marshal discourses, make sense of meanings and engage with material geographies in an environment of renewed global anti-Semitism. Under the frame of assemblage, Holocaust tourism and its evolving trajectories are examined using qualitative mixed methods. The results demonstrate the transformative effect that certain global happenings can have on consumers when atrocity sites connected to heritage are affected by multiple sets of perceived harmdoers. Additionally, it is demonstrated as to how meanings and motivations are implicated in the evolved discourses of atrocity heritage amongst a group of people with a diasporic identity. Larger theoretical and managerial implications are discussed relating to Holocaust tourism.

KEYWORDS:

• Holocaust tourism
• atrocity
• Jewish tourism
• dark tourism

Notes on contributor

Jeff Podoshen is an Associate Professor in the department of Business, Organizations and Society at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, USA. Jeff’s area of research relates to dark consumption and dark tourism practice, and he often blends and bridges theory from a variety of disciplines (such as marketing, social psychology and sociology) in order to explain phenomena and build theory. One of the early pioneers of the use of netnography in social sciences research, Jeff utilizes a myriad of mixed methods and cutting edge qualitative techniques to distill complex data into more easily defined categories that allows for greater introspection on specific subcultures.