Cremation Of Holocaust Survivors In The Last Laugh

There are many commentators in The Last Laugh (Pearlstein, 2016), but the most notable are two of the Holocaust survivors: Renee Firestone and Robert Clary. They both recount their memories similarly to survivors of other tragedies as expressed by Tom Brokaw (1998) “they described the scene as calmly as if they were remembering an egg-toss at a sunday social back home.. and they almost never reflect directly on the bravery of the storyteller” (p.7). Both survivors captivate the audience and quickly gain their respect and appreciation for their willingness to explain their stories. They do not however share similar thoughts in regards to the Holocaust and finding humor in the topic. In a scene where Renee and Robert are discussing cremation, Renee is quite appalled at Robert’s comment that the fish will enjoy the taste of him when his ashes are scattered among the water.
Before anyone chooses to take one of these survivor’s side due to their thoughts on cremation or their stand on humor regarding the Holocaust, which is what it seems like the filmmakers of The Last Laugh would have the audience do, it is crucial to understand a concept in regards to the identities of these two survivors.
Sen (2006) states “the singular-affiliation view would be hard to justify by the crude presumption that any person belongs to one group and one group only… there may be significant external influences as well. This clarification is needed since the role of choice has to be understood after taking note of the other influences that restrict or restrain the choices one can make”. This will be a critical perspective to maintain throughout the rest of this paper, the documentary, and in any other memory text that covers such a complex topic. No one besides Renee and Robert, and other survivors, are truly aware of the differences in the experiences that they faced, the feelings that they felt, and the treatment that they received during the Holocaust and the years that have followed
it.
Humor is a concept that was very important to Robert Clary during the Holocaust and succeeding it. It is possibly due to the claim made by Zandberg (2006) that “comic representations are more effectively in revolt against horror” (p. 563). In fact, Robert claims that his life was saved because of entertainment that included laughing, singing, and dancing to revolt against the horrible horror that took place. What was taking place was not funny, but they had to find comedic relief in some way to remain optimistic. He also believes that even the Nazis attended these entertainment sessions to escape the horror of killing hundreds of people per day. This is echoed by Rob Reiner, in The Last Laugh, who states “the Holocaust itself is not funny but survival and what it takes to survive, there can be humor in that” (2016). The jokes that are being made about the Holocaust are not to make fun of the survivors. The jokes are made to explain the stories of the survivors and the victims in a way that may be more light-hearted than others. Steed (2005) makes the same claim in that “the primary purpose of the telling of the jokes is not to evoke laughter but to communicate something very serious that… perhaps cannot communicate in any other way” (p. 146-47). Therefore humor can be an outlet that provides victims and others to mourn and teach about war, especially the Holocaust, apart from memoirs or discussions that may leave many feeling overwhelmingly heavy or sorrowful.