Education as an Act of Self-Fulfilment : A Literary Analysis of Holocaust Narratives in the Light of Personal Development and Their Utilization in the EFL Classroom

Sammanfattning: The aim of the present inquiry was to identify significant factors which had impact on the lives of Miriam Darvas and the protagonist Liesel Meminger, linked to the circumstances of the Holocaust in their respective narratives Farewell to Prague and The Book Thief. Through the investigation of the living conditions impacting the individuals, Maslow’s Theory of Motivation is applied in order to find the factors hindering the possibility for Miriam and Liesel to develop in their personal selves. Simultaneously, an educational aim followed the study in order to clarify the pedagogical possibilities of using the narratives in an EFL classroom.    The findings of the present inquiry indicate great similarities in the change of circumstances between Miriam and Liesel due to the war, which consequently impacted the individuals in their basis of developing their personal self. The results disclosed several instances in which the surroundings of Darvas and Meminger hindered their ability to develop and deprived them of the necessities needed, according to Maslow’s theory. However, they also disclosed indications of finding inner strength by self-improvement through education. Therefore, the findings from the present study supports an area of pedagogical possibilities using the narratives in the EFL classroom, such as enhancing the knowledge and understanding for the living conditions during the Holocaust, providing alternative reading suggestions to the commonly used Holocaust literature, as well as allowing collaborations between several subjects in high school.