ABSTRACT
The Holocaust has turned not just into a referent or symbol for other incidents of genocide, but also into a measure of and yardstick for determining whether killings constitute a genocide or not. The Holocaust is conscripted either to make a case for defining and accepting an event as genocide, or to delegitimate and dismantle the category of genocide for certain events. Bosnia is an example of the former, the disputes over an Armenian genocide in Turkey or a genocide of Aboriginal people in Australia are examples of the latter. The controversy over the use of the word ‘genocide’ in the reports about the Stolen Generation in Australia, or the case of Rwanda, where the killings were called anything but a genocide by politicians for as long as possible, exemplify the politics of Holocaust usage in the context of global genocides. In these cases, what is at issue, is recognising, understanding and naming possibly genocidal processes, and the question of international intervention and prevention. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (from 1948 and entered into force 12 Jan 1951) defines genocide as
Not least because of the experiences with the Holocaust, this definition shifts the focus from the number of dead to the destruction of a group and its members. It also shifts the focus from systematic and technical destruction to intended destruction.
