Holocaust trivialization

Holocaust trivialization is the use of the word Holocaust in a way that decreases the perceived size or importance of the Holocaust: the genocide of at least 6,000,000 European Jews during World War II. More specifically, Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), observed Holocaust trivialization as

[A] tool for some ideologically [...] motivated activists to metaphorically compare phenomena they oppose to the industrial-scale destruction of the Jews [. ...] exaggerate the evil nature of a phenomenon they condemn.^[1]

Originally, the word used to mean a (religious) sacrifice that is burnt completely to ash, but gained a new meaning something along the lines of "the large-scale destruction of a group of humans or animals" at some point during the late 19th century. For example, in 1915 the Armenian Genocide was described as a holocaust by many people of the time.^[2]

These usages are seen as offensive by many authors and scholars,^[3] Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has said that the word has become too trivialized, using examples like news networks talking about the defeat of a sports team, or the murder of six people, and calling it a holocaust.^[4]

1. ↑ Gerstenfeld, Manfred (April 9, 2008). "Holocaust Trivialization". Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA). Retrieved October 31, 2024.
2. ↑ Suny, Ronald Grigor (2015). "They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else": A History of the Armenian Genocide. Princeton University Press. pp. xxi, 347, 369. ISBN 978-1-4008-6558-1.
3. ↑ "Antisemitism and Hate in Canada". League for Human Rights of Canada. March 2000. Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
4. ↑ Cohen, Asher; Gelber, Joav; Wardi, Charlotte, eds. (1988). Comprehending the Holocaust: Historical and Literary Research. Bern: Peter Lang. p. 13. ISBN 978-3-63-140428-7. Retrieved 2 December 2020 – via Google Books.