Holocaust Studies | 2019
Introduction: the Holocaust in contemporary culture
Abstract
Picture the following scene: an ice-skating rink. The lights are dimmed, but a spotlight seeks out a couple in the middle of the ice. Instead of sequins and sparkly spandex, though, both are dressed in concentration camp striped pyjamas, with Stars of David on prominent display. Music begins slowly and haltingly to only become louder and more powerful. To the strains of the theme tune of the acclaimed Italian film La vita è bella (1997), the couple begin to perform a Holocaust-themed ice-dancing revue that features pretend shooting, guard dogs barking, and that ends with the sound of machine gun fire. Throughout the performance, both skaters smile broadly. Their emotional dance ends in raucous applause from the spectators and a perfect score from the ring-side judges. No. This is not a tasteless imagined scenario. It is a very real performance that featured on the Russian reality show Ice Age in November 2016. The skaters were the former Olympic ice-dancer Tatyana Navka and her partner Andrew Burkovsjy – and maybe, just maybe, the performance would not have received quite so much media attention worldwide if Tatyana Navka had not happened to be the wife of Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Although studio audience and show judges seemed to ‘enjoy’ the performance – one can only hope that the judgment was based on its athletic and not its ethical value – it received strong condemnation in the international news media. Jeremy Jones, the Director of International Affairs at Australia’s Israel and Jewish Affair Council, considered the performance ‘unbelievably tasteless.’ In an interview with CNN he condemned ‘the lack of thought’ behind the performance and predicted that ‘long after they’re forgotten as ice skaters they’ll be remembered as people who sunk to such depths to get some celebrity.’ In the run up to the performance, Navka herself had posted images of her upcoming routine on Instagram, urging viewers to witness the performance to remember the Holocaust, and explaining that the film La vita è bella, with its devastating use of humor to highlight horror yet still resulting in a message of hope, was her favorite film. But when the show was broadcast, their performance caused a veritable Twitter storm, with viewers giving full rein to their shock and disgust. Some called it ‘Tasteless. Insensitive. The Holocaust is not happy entertainment’ while others became more personal with comments such as ‘you make me sick.’ The performance also had political undertones – presumably due to Navka’s proximity to Putin and the Russian government – with viewers contacting Russian embassies worldwide; twitter user @nevilleprinsloo tweeted: ‘@EmbassyofRussia I want to lodge a complaint of disgust against your government and Tatyana Navka’s Holocaust themed ice skating show!!’ and demanded that