| ID | 076987 |
| Title Proper | Myth of Abandonment |
| Other Title Information | the use and abuse of the holocaust analogy |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Desch, Michael C |
| Publication | 2006. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | The Holocaust has become an important part of the everyday discourse of American life. Indeed, it has become one of the central historical analogies for thinking about U.S. foreign policy in the post-Cold War world. The received wisdom about the Holocaust among most Americans is that the United States and the rest of the civilized world turned away Jews seeking to escape Nazi Germany before World War II, and then sat idly by while the Third Reich murdered nearly 6 million of them during the course of the war. In light of this reprehensible indifference, the United States shares some responsibility for the Holocaust, and it must "never again" allow large numbers of people to be slaughtered because of their race, ethnicity, or religion. Historical analogies are ubiquitous in foreign policy debates. Not only do they routinely shape state behavior, they usually do so for the worse. Hence, we should be wary of all historical analogies and examine them carefully to make sure they are based on sound history and used wisely by policymakers. The widely accepted Holocaust analogy illustrates, in my view, both how analogies are frequently based on a faulty reading of history and that policies based on them have not always served U.S. interests. |
| `In' analytical Note | Security Studies Vol. 15, No.1; Jan-Mar 2006: p106-145 |
| Journal Source | Security Studies Vol. 15, No.1; Jan-Mar 2006: p106-145 |
| Key Words | United States - Foreign Policy ; Holocaust ; Ethnicity ; Religions |