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 six million European Jews during World War II.
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.[1]
These usages are seen as offensive by many authors and scholars.[2] 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.[3]
References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ 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.