Is the Holocaust unique? : perspectives on comparative genocide / edited and with an introduction by Alan S. Rosenbaum ; with a foreword by Israel W. Charny.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Rosenbaum, Alan S.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Historiography.

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945).

Historiography.

Genocide.

Physical Description:

xix, 359 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

Third edition.

Place of Publication:

Boulder, CO : Westview Press ; Philadelphia, PA : Perseus Books Group [distributor], [2009]

Summary:

In essays written specifically for this volume, distinguished contributors assess highly charged and fundamental questions about the Holocaust: Is it unique? How can it be compared with other instances of genocide? What constitutes genocide, and how should the international community respond? On one side of the dispute are those who fear that if the Holocaust is seen as the worst case of genocide ever, its character will diminish the sufferings of other persecuted groups. On the other side are those who argue that unless the Holocaust's uniqueness is established, the inevitable tendency will be to diminish its abiding significance.

The editor's introductions provide the contextual considerations for understanding this multidimensional dispute and suggest that there are universal lessons to be learned from studying the Holocaust. The third edition includes new readings on the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides, common themes in genocide ideologies, and Iran's reaction to the Holocaust. In a world where genocide persists and the global community continues to struggle with the implications of international crime, prosecution, justice, atonement, reparation, and healing, the issues addressed in this book are as relevant as ever.

Contents:

1 The Ethics of Uniqueness / John K. Roth 27

2 Religion and the Uniqueness of the Holocaust / Richard L. Rubenstein 39

3 From the Holocaust: Some Legal and Moral Implications / Richard J. Goldstone 47

4 The Uniqueness of the Holocaust: The Historical Dimension / Steven T. Katz 55

5 Responses to the Porrajmos: The Romani Holocaust / Ian Hancock 75

6 The Atlantic Slave Trade and the Holocaust: A Comparative Analysis / Seymour Drescher 103

7 The Armenian Genocide as Precursor and Prototype of Twentieth-Century Genocide / Robert F. Melson 125

8 The Comparative Aspects of the Armenian and Jewish Cases of Genocide: A Sociohistorical Perspective / Vahakn N. Dadrian 139

9 Stalinist Terror and the Question of Genocide: The Great Famine / Barbara B. Green 175

10 The Holocaust and the Japanese Atrocities / Kinue Tokudome 201

11 The Holocaust, Rwanda, and the Category of Genocide / Jerry Fowler 215

12 Hitler, Pol Pot, and Hutu Power: Common Themes in Genocidal Ideologies / Ben Kiernan 223

13 "Global Vision": Iran's Holocaust Denial / Matthias Kuentzel 231

14 The Promise and Limits of Comparison: The Holocaust and the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda / Scott Straus 245

15 Applying the Lessons of the Holocaust / Shimon Samuels 259

16 The Rise and Fall of Metaphor: German Historians and the Uniqueness of the Holocaust / Wulf Kansteiner 271

17 Uniqueness as Denial: The Politics of Genocide Scholarship / David E. Stannard 295.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780813344065

0813344069

OCLC:

213851100