Is the Holocaust Unique?: Perspectives on Comparative Genocide

by Alan S. Rosenbaum

Evaluating the Jewish Holocaust is by no means a simple matter, and one of the most controversial questions for academics is whether there have been any historical parallels for it. Have Armenians, Gypsies, American Indians, or others undergone a comparable genocide? In this revised and updated edition of the fiercely controversial Is the Holocaust Unique? , distinguished scholars offer new discussions of this question. Presenting a wide range of strongly held views, they provide no easy consensus.Some critics contend that if the Holocaust is seen as fundamentally different in kind from other genocides or mass deaths, the suffering of other persecuted groups will be diminished. Others argue that denying the uniqueness of the Holocaust will trivialize it. Alan Rosenbaum's introduction provides a much-needed context for readers to come to terms with this multi-dimensional dispute, to help them understand why it has recently intensified, and to enable them to appreciate what universal lessons might be gleaned from studying the Holocaust.This volume makes an important contribution to our comprehension of one of the defining events of modern history. It should be essential reading for scholars, students, and general readers interested in the Holocaust and its relationship to other instances of politically inspired mass murder.

Genres: History, Holocaust, Politics, Germany, Anthologies

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 9, 1996

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a particularly difficult book to review, because not only is it a collection of essays, but it also contains, in the words of the the author of the forward, "several chapters and substantial sections of chapters that should never have been accepted for publication by a responsible editor." Which particular chapters you see as reprehensible will vary depending on your particular point of view, but pretty much everyone will find something to dislike or make them angry. So why the three star rating? The book accomplishes the goal of its editor in that it provides insight into multiple points of view regarding the "uniqueness" of the Holocaust. The editor offers several introductions (one for each edition) that help contextualize the debate, and then presents each of the essays without further comment or judgement. The entire collection offers a fascinating window into a contentious debate.

If you are interested in the historiography of Holocaust and genocide studies and you can contain your outrage enough to get through the chapters you object to, this collection has a lot to offer. I wouldn't recommend it to those without at least some knowledge of the field (you might get a little lost) or those who dislike scholarly prose (you might get a little bored).

I should note as well that many of the essays are now quite dated. This isn't just because the Holocaust uniqueness debate has (mostly) died down; recent scholarship has provided additional information and nuance to several of the cases and issues in the book.

[Steph Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for a Uni Review and it's quite hard to rate because it's a compilation but at the same time i thoroughly enjoyed it as a piece of academic study.

Some chapter's perspectives were intolerable, Steven Katz i'm looking at you. It's hard to imagine someone so qualified on a topic of suffering and horror to be so ignorant and apathetic to others' experiences.

Other chapters were like a light at the end of the tunnel and I found hard to fault (David Stannard you angel).

But disregarding my personal perspective, each chapter had something to say, and it was very informative to see the span of historiographical arguments.

[James S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag. Steven Katz's essay is persuasive and brisk, David Stannard's is deranged. The others fall somewhere in between.

[Water Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review is broken up into 3 main parts, my particular coverage of the book itself (or really what part of the book I read) and then on a potential note for readers and then also some further suggested readings:

1. This book is worth it just for David Stannard's essay alone (which just so happens to be the one essay I read), in my opinion. In there, he not only provides a condensed form of the findings of his book, "The American Holocaust," in which he delineates the genocide of the indigenous peoples of the Americas (except with a twist), but he also clearly and lucidly explains how the 'Holocaust Uniqueness Thesis' is not just intellectually devoid (and often itself a form of "intellectual thuggery"), but also itself a form of genocide denial, and is used to shield Israel from criticism for its treatment of the Palestinians.

2. A point about David Stannard's essay however is that he (I can't recall if he does so in this particular essay he contributes to this book or in a subsequent article Stannard authored titled "The Dangers of Calling the Holocaust Unique") relies upon only Raul Hilberg's figures for the number of deaths of the Nazi Holocaust (of Jews); while this is totally reasonable given that Hilberg was the upmost preeminent scholarly authority on the destruction of European Jewry by the Nazis, and given that Stannard's expertise lies in early Colonial American history, Hilberg's accounting also appears to be on the more conservative end and there are other studies that typically place the number at around 6.1, rather than 5.1. So, readers ought to be aware of that (which should also encourage readers to read the rest of the book which has essays contributed to it by experts on the Nazi Holocaust).

3. A particularly interesting point he makes is by highlighting how an "industry" has built on the 'Holocaust Uniqueness Thesis.' The Political Scientist/Historian/Theorist and International Jurist Norman Gary Finkelstein authored a book titled "The Holocaust Industry" (for which readers are encouraged to read the second/latest edition). It should be noted that since David Stannard situates the 'Holocaust Uniqueness Thesis' in the context of this, so-called, 'Holocaust industry,' readers may also be encouraged to read up on, what Norman G. Finkelstein describes as, the subsequent development which spawned out of and replaced the Holocaust Industry, the 'New Anti-Semitism,' built on the 'New Anti-Semitism Thesis,' which Norman Gary Finkelstein studies as the subject of his book "Beyond Chutzpah," with particular attention given to two artifacts of this phenomenon: "The Case for Israel" by Alan Dershowitz and then "The Case for Peace" by Alan Dershowitz. To see coverage of "The Case for Peace" and not just "The Case for Israel," (which is a rebuttal to the first edition of "Beyond Chutzpah) readers are encouraged to read the 2nd edition of "Beyond Chutzpah" (especially if they want to have a greater focus on Israel's treatment of the Palestinians). Harkening back to the phenomenon of the 'Holocaust Industry' however, if readers are interested in a particularly notorious(ly bad) artifact of the 'Holocaust Industry,' they may interested in reading "Hitler's Willing Executioners" by Daniel Goldhagen, which is a failed rebuttal to the much praised (and rightfully so) "Ordinary Men" by Christopher Browning and was absolutely dissected and exposed as garbage by Norman Gary Finkelstein and Historian/Archivist Ruth Bettina Birn in the book "A Nation on Trial"

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays about how the Holocaust of World War II compares to other genocides. I was required to read this book for one of my history classes in college, and I hated it. I think some of the essays offer valid points, but in general it was boring. The Holocaust was certainly a very mechanized genocide compared to others in history, and that certainly adds to the unique factor. I'm finding it difficult to say many positive things about this book. I will say that this was considered essential and required reading, and I feel that it should not have been required nor was it essential. I would not waste my time on this book.