To Remember or Not? The Memory of the Holocaust as a Part of World War II Memory

There is no one answer of this question. The Holocaust is perceived as a part of WWII not in all countries. Thus, for example, in Israel it is seen as a part of Jewish history, a continuum of antisemitic persecution, and it provides a moral justification for the creation of the state. In Germany the Holocaust is considered to be a part of German history. In the post-Soviet countries and in Poland the Holocaust is understood as a part of WWII, though in most post-Soviet countries the word “Holocaust ” is not widely used. In the United States the Holocaust is also considered to be a part of WWII, but now it is put in a broader historical context including racism, violation of human rights, and involvement of other victims of the Nazis (Gypsies, handicapped, homosexuals, etc.). So there exist several reasons to think that the memory about the Holocaust is a part of WWII and it is possible to examine it this way. 2. Different Memory Memory about WWII was changing in different periods of time, in different historical and political conditions (immediately after the war, during the Cold War and after it, etc.). Especially striking changes we can find in the post-Soviet period. J.Wertsch was just speaking about repairing narratives about WWII in Russian textbooks. As the analysis of Ukrainian textbooks shows (E. Ivanova, 2000), besides the repairing in some textbooks on the history of Ukraine the whole narrative about WWII has been changed in comparison with the Soviet version. According to a new narrative it appeared that thoug