ABSTRACT
Although perpetrated by individuals, the Holocaust utilized the mechanisms of a state, including official propaganda. This propaganda justified the commission of crimes, either directly by state apparatus or indirectly through incitement of citizens against victims. This notion underscores the importance of challenging false narratives. If there is a wilful distortion of history, lessons of the past not only go unlearned, but can serve as the basis for new atrocities as well. In Eastern Europe, Soviet propaganda still underscores the narrative about the Holocaust and Jews on one hand, and on the other the complex issues of identity within the Soviet Union, and the relationship between this identity and collaboration. These intentional distortions continue to plague proper understanding. Russia can portray formerly occupied countries as inherently “fascist” because neither they nor Russia have provided sufficient fair historical assessment. Post-Holocaust historical memory of Jewish presence in Eastern Europe has been erased twice because it did not fit into historical narratives – first by communists and later by countries after independence who asserted identities outside Russian domination.
