Is The Holocaust Unique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Is The Holocaust Unique - Essay Example Holocaust is the term used to describe the Nazi genocide of the Jewish people during World War II (Oxford Reference). The term â€Å"holocaust† has been used by many to describe other mass violations against humanity. The word â€Å"holocaust† is derived from holokaustos in the Greek translation of the bible and means a â€Å"completely consumed burnt offering†. The Gypsies (Romanis), the Armenians, and the Chinese under Mao all experienced one form or another of genocide. To some extent the terms genocide and holocaust have been used interchangeably to describe a mass killing of a people. So, what’s the difference? Mass killings can be called genocide but not necessarily a holocaust. The Jewish Holocaust was an attempt to kill off a specific race of people regardless of where they lived. Hitler’s version of holocaust was to kill off every Jew everywhere in the world with the intent of controlling the world with his allies. This was all inclusive, no exceptions! Genocide has been defined as being an eight stage process: Classification, Symbolization, Dehumanization, Organization, Polarization, Preparation, Extermination, and Denial. It’s when the eight stage process gets to â€Å"extermination† that their actions have earned the title â€Å"genocide†. The difference between genocide and a holocaust is that any one of the above listed eight stages is genocide. Holocaust is all the stages, one thru eight, with the intent to totally exterminate a people. The Holocaust's victims were considered to be so inferior, so threatening that their existence had to be completely eliminated (Rosenbaum, 22-23). The Nazi's called this plan "die Endlosung", the final solution to the Jewish question (Rosenbaum, 22). 2. A survivor's account. Alexander Kimel, a holocaust survivor, explains that the difference between Genocides and the Holocaust are the rates of survival (Kimel, p1.). Keep in mind that this is not an argument of numbers killed but an argument of recovery. China's Mao killed 10 million out of 800 million (1.23%), Stalin's numbers were 10 million out of 230 million (4.3%), and in the early phases of World War II out of 10,000 Jews 9900 were killed (99%). And, that trend continued through out World War Two. Recovery can and did take place in China and Russia. In Europe the Jewish community remains but a fragment of what it was and does not continue in the same ways as prior to World War Two. Many Jewish communities that had existed in Europe prior to World War Two are gone. All that remains of many communities are their vandalized cemeteries. 3. What is the purpose of the discussions about the Holocaust and genocide The Jewish community as a whole has kept alive their memories of the Holocaust. The Armenian and Romani communities have done the same. Yehuda Berger writes: