ABSTRACT
What emotional effect is conjured in your mind when you hear the term
“holocaust?” If you have been schooled in the American educational system,
no doubt it conjures up images of depravity and pain. The term has been so
ingrained in our conscious minds that we frequently reference the mass exter-
mination as “the holocaust” rather than “the Jewish holocaust,” with the impli-
cated understanding of this being a singularly tragic evident. I was introduced
to the horrors of the Jewish holocaust in elementary school through a film that
displayed gruesome images from German death camps and of property that
were “trophies” confiscated by Nazi guards and officials. Some of the ghoulish
trophies were absolutely horrific in nature, like lampshades and hats made of
human skin or bleached white skulls that were used for medical experimentations.
These images still burn in my mind some 20 years later.
