I don't know if I can post this topic as it's a very strong subject...but here I go...

In Religious Studies at school, we've been doing about the holocaust and we've been told to write a poem. I've written a poem but I just thought, what do other people think about it. So here's my question -

Over 6 million innocent people died during the Holocaust, is this number becoming "just a number"? or does it still mean something? If a person can have no space for difference, can they have no space for humanity?

This all relates to the Holocaust and general feelings on the topic would be interesting to read.

My gaud, what an emotionally daunting subject. The number is too hard for the human mind to comprehend. When I think about those things, I think, one person, I think about the crappy things that happens to normal people in everyday life, the sorta things that would make your friend go, 'ahh that's cold man', than I think about the worst things that I have seen happen to myself and the friends I know and add it to that person. Now my person has had a pretty crappy life-poor person, because my person is normal now, I relate to him or her, I can add the stuff that I learned about the Holocaust to this person, now I have faint idea of the pain, that person has suffered, I may even feel like crying, than you multiply this by another one, and another, and another, than you get an obscure feel for the horror and misery of the Holocuast. It shows you the potential of evil, and makes you feel awful, that's why I try not to think about these things-but they should never be forgotten.
People will often go aww it's awful 6 million and wave it off cos its hard to comprehend as oppose to not caring so much. But although these people are known to us as a number, I don't think it makes their lives less significant.

Actually there was quite a few Holocaust's. Like the Native-American Holocaust and the Jewish Holocaust. So why don't you just say the Jewish Holocaust?

Native-American Holocaust? I've never heard of that, so, even if all those natives were killed and only a few had survived, so did the brazilian ones and no one speaks about them. I'd have to disagree about calling that a holocaust. TEH Holocaust is the one about the Jewish ppl, among with gipsies too. The 'Jewish Holocaust' was different cause it happened in modern time and just because they weren't blond, had a different religion and were good in businness. The odd thing is that Hitler wasn't german, nor blonde and not even tall. I'd say he could be a jewish, but that's just me <_<
And besides all this is that big countries such as England and France knew all about the weaponry they were making even though Germany was forbidden to, and probably about the camps. Russia had camps like that too for the prisioners, those that had commited a crime or just not agreeing with Staline -_- They all died with hunger, torture and stuff like that.
As you can see, the world has a dark past...

There was a Native American holocaust, the white people wiped out a lot of languages. I'm part native american, actually. I still think it's a pretty horrible thing to happen. There were concentration camps in the U.S for the Japanese, they weren't as bad as the camps that the Nazis were controlling, and not much died in there like the Nazi camps, but it was still horrible. They made those just because of Pearl Harbor. :( But the Holocaust is a VERY, VERY big tragedy...

The Holocaust becomgin just a number is a symptom of the lack of understanding and real desire to prevent any further actions of genocide. The Armenian genocide occurred not long before the Holocaust and no one hears or knows of the 1 million dead today. Rwanda had more exposure but no more compassion as is the same with Cambodia the Bosnian Civil War.

These acts are such an overwhelming disgrace for any nation to bear that rather than look to find why these things happened, how they could happen, we simply cover our tracks and hope it doesn't happen again.

Until the world decides to study the consistent acts of genocide in history they will not stop.

I have dear friends from Bosnia and they say how horrid it is over there. And until you experience something like that it really is just a number to you.

Nevi

And until you experience something like that it really is just a number to you.

I agree that we can't know the extent of those places without being there. But empathetic people can experience the torment of those times more than others and are more willing to do something about it.