Völkermord und die Aufarbeitung von Vergangenheiten aus globaler Sicht

Holocaust and Genocide Studies emerged as a new discipline during the 1990s, particularly so in the Anglo-Saxon world. This development also established a new culture of remembrance and treatment of the collective past and public apologies for historical crimes. Since then, several countries have institutionalized Holocaust memorial days and similar institutions in a range of formats, several governments have apologized for historical injustices in various manners. Yet, there remains the question of a precise definition of a genocide – and in what way the term is connected to the Holocaust, the murder of the European Jews. How are these two related? What is the social function of such official or semi-official remembrances, and what is their role in society? In his lecture, Dirk Moses endeavored to clarify whether the insights gained from the history of the Holocaust and other genocides in general – namely, the imperative of ‚tolerance‘ – really does provide an adequate answer to this challenge.