the Holocaust we received them to die’. 13 This was her response to those who protested
against the mandatory vaccinations. In the present day, antisemitism is increasing and
comes in many forms, on both the Right and Left, and is used in more ways than one to
attack Jewish people. As mentioned before, the denial of the Holocaust is justified by anti-
Semites who accuse Jews of creating a ‘myth’. They also accuse them of doing so for
monetary gain. No other survivors of a genocide have been accused of such fabrication. That
is why the Holocaust is different.
Whilst we focus on the etymology of ‘Holocaust’, it is more important today to look
at the happenings between 1941 and 1945. The Holocaust is different from other genocides
because of how it was systematically put in place by the Nazis, who used dehumanisation,
propaganda, and influence to separate an entire group of people from mainstream societies
across Europe. The events of this time have in turn triggered the normalisation of Holocaust
education, which has then led on to the respectful memorial of other massacres. Every year,
Holocaust Memorial Day is used to also reflect on the mass killings ‘that followed in
Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur’. 14 In the present day, those who honour victims must
look to the future, and at how they can fight Holocaust denial, which is ever-present.
Survivors of other horrendous killings do not have to face this. We must reflect on the
difference between the Holocaust which was, as John A. Drobinicki writes, ‘a sophisticated
machine, an industry developed to exterm inate first and foremost the Jews of Europe’, with
other horrendous murders to really see how easy it has been for them to happen. 15
13 Ben Zion Gad, ‘Survivors outraged at comparisons between Holocaust and COVID’, Jerusalem Post , 23 January 2022, p. 2 14 Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, What is Holocaust Memorial Day? (2019), <https://www.hmd.org.uk/what-is-holocaust-memorial-day/> [Accessed 09/12/2022], para. 1 15 John A. Drobinicki, ‘The Difference Between Holocaust and Genocide’, Polish-American Journal, (1994), p. 6
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