ABSTRACT
The TANKARD song that begins this chapter is merely one piece of popular music that takes up the themes of the Holocaust or neo-Nazism. Throughout Tolerance Discourse and Young Adult Holocaust Literature, the songs that begin each chapter are reminders of the ongoing connections between the Holocaust and popular culture, as are the young adult books that make up the bulk of this study. Featured rst is the German band TANKARD, a veteran thrash metal group who are most often known for singing about beer. However, in the 1990 song “Always Them” they depart from their primary inuence of “Beer, beer, and beer;-)” (“About TANKARD”). This song counters the neo-Nazi messages associated with the National Socialist black metal subculture that arose in Scandinavia in the 1980s. The band argues tolerance is the better way for dealing with “foreigners” and that we all win in friendship. Are they the same, however? Can we equate tolerance and friendship? Do we all win in tolerance as well as in friendship? While these
questions may seem light-hearted when applied to a campy, beer-loving heavy metal band, they lie at this study’s core. Tolerance discourse crops up seemingly everywhere, from metal music to educational policy.
