A fascinating question on the BBC.
I think my answer would be on two fronts:
- The mechanised nature of human destruction marks it out. More people died under Stalin and Mao. Most of the people died because of disastrous communist economic policies which brought on famine. Otherwise, executions and imprisonments were targeted at specific groups and/or individuals. The Holocaust was a systematic, intentional, industrial killing machine. The Holocaust was organised and operated as a business, with efficiency and cost optimisation.
- The Holocaust is still very recent & changed our world. Genghis Khan’s empire caused the 10 to 80 million deaths, but the conquest brought gunpowder to Europe, and opened trade between the east and the west (Silk Road) etc. Hitler’s unintended aftermath was laying the foundations of the EU (e.g. through the European Coal and Steel Community), the use of nuclear power as an energy source, and the creation of the state of Israel for the Jews.
I agree with your assessment. The systematic, hate-filled brutality of the Holocaust should horrify the world forever. And should act as a caution against allowing the success of any extremist ideology. But there are so many people today for whom "shoulds" do not seem to matter anymore.
ReplyDeleteI echo Debra's comment.
ReplyDeleteIt's sobering to consider how history's darkest chapters, like the Holocaust and the reign of figures like Stalin and Mao, continue to shape our world, and yet, as unsettling as it is, the tragic cycles of human conflict and destruction seem to repeat themselves throughout history.
ReplyDeleteThe Holocaust will never be forgotten, hence it stays alive and when everyone who is gone or knew someone effect hopefully the atrocity of that time will be taught in schools along with the Hitler and so on.
ReplyDeleteIt's very difficult to explain why Hitler still has his admirers despite the utter horror and barbarity of what he did. There are so many different factors - the hankering after a strong leader, lingering anti-semitism, a naive belief that he would transform society for the better, a mindless echoing of other people's support for Nazism, and so on. We can only hope that belief in democracy and decent behaviour will prevail over escalating authoritarianism.
ReplyDeleteI was just talking about the Holocaust with my daughter the other day because of a video I saw on Instagram about it and so many people in the comments saying it never happened. How can so many people actually believe it never happened. That's crazy.
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