ABSTRACT
The essential but unfortunate academic, cultural, and institutional battles being waged over securing the controlling or authoritative interpretation of the Holocaust and its fitting place in history, politics, ethics, religion, and in the popular imagination continues to arouse interest, frustration, and anger. Substantial differences of opinion remain at the heart of the matter, not the least of which still concerns the overall value of a well-reasoned, well-documented analysis, classification, and assessment of instances of similar forms of genocide. In a superficial sense, the fact that the term "Holocaust" has recently been applied to so many different types of calamities appears to reinforce its dramatic affect as a well-known paradigmatic or defining case of genocide and of evil. The turbid waters of inflated usage of "the Holocaust" are better clarified or avoided as comparable genocides are analyzed and grounded upon conceptual clarity, defensible methods of inquiry with supportable evidence, and upon reasonable interpretations by competent scholars.
