Lessons of the Holocaust

It is debated whether there are moral, ethical, or political lessons to be learned from the Holocaust, and if so what they are. In contemporary discourse, there are many references to proposed lessons to be learned from the Holocaust, which are less common in the work of Holocaust scholars. In his 2016 book of the same title, Michael Marrus classifies the lessons drawn from the Holocaust into the categories of early, Jewish, Israeli, and universal lessons. The authors of a book on Holocaust education separate the lessons into deontological, consequentialist, and ontological lessons. Political scientist Ian Lustick classifies responses to the Holocaust by Israeli Jews into four categories: the Holocaust as a "Zionist Proof-text; Wasting Asset; Object Lesson for safeguarding human rights; and Template for Jewish life". He argues that the last has become hegemonic since the 1980s and that the consequences of seeing enemies as Nazis and threats as existential are damaging to Israel. The existence of specific lessons to be learned from the Holocaust is cited as a justification for Holocaust education, but challenged by some critics. There is a tension between the argument that the Holocaust was a unique event in history and that it has lessons that could be applied to other situations.