1. The Holocaust applied to the organized government persecution and genocide of various ethnic, religious and political groups during World War II by Nazi Germany and collaborators. This was mostly aimed at Jewish people - called: "Final Solution of the Jewish Question", however in the Roma and Sinti were also targets as were other “objectionable” groups of people – Poles, Soviet POW (Inc. Russians and other Slavs), mentally or physically disabled, homosexuals,
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Communists, people who objected to the government and criminals. Estimates place the total number of Holocaust victims at up to 26 million people, although the number 9 to 11 million is usually held as more reliable. Alternatively
Holocaust deniers or revisionists believe that the holocaust did not occur – far fewer that approx. 6 million Jews were killed. Holocaust revisionists also deny that extermination of Jews and other groups was not a centrally-planned Nazi attempt. This argument is generally dismissed by most historical groups due to aural, written, visual and archeological evidence.
Other meanings of ‘Holocaust’ include:
- Holocaust (band): A Scottish heavy metal band.
- Holocaust (comics): A Marvel Comics Super Villain
Other events such as the:
Asian Holocaust,
Black Holocaust, Cambodian Holocaust, Chinese Holocaust, Hiroshima Holocaust, Ukrainian Holocaust, Gay Holocaust, Armenian Holocaust (or Genocide), Irish Holocaust (Potato Famine),
Native American Holocaust (Massacres during the ‘settlement’ of the Americas), Nuclear Holocaust, Rwanda Holocaust or Genocide, Vietnamese Holocaust (Atrocities after the fall of Saigon) .
"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in
this century's history. But we all lived in
this century. I didn't live in this century." -
Dan Quayle