[anotherview]

There have been many examples of genocide in the 20th century, from Pol Pot and the "killing fields" of Cambodia to the near extermination of the Jews of Ethiopia by the Marxist rebels (now the government) there to Stalinist purges. I can name many others if you like and if you have a strong stomach.

What makes the Holocaust different is that the German people were leaders in the arts, science, culture, etc... They were as civilized as any people on the face of the earth. The genocide of the Jews, Roma (gypsies), and anyone else the Nazis decided to eliminate was systematic, mechanized, and meticulously organized and recorded. That, it seems to me, is different than any other genocide in history. We tend to think of genocide as barbarism, but the Holocaust happened with all the elements of modern civilized society in place. That, I believe, is unique.

[Lazamataz]

What makes the Holocaust different is that the German people were leaders in the arts, science, culture, etc... They were as civilized as any people on the face of the earth. The genocide of the Jews, Roma (gypsies), and anyone else the Nazis decided to eliminate was systematic, mechanized, and meticulously organized and recorded. That, it seems to me, is different than any other genocide in history. We tend to think of genocide as barbarism, but the Holocaust happened with all the elements of modern civilized society in place. That, I believe, is unique.

Before I become very angry, please tell me you are not trying to hold up the extermination of your relatives as superior, more meaningful, or more heinous than the near-extermination of my grandfather and the successful extermination of ALL his relatives -- except his wife and his children!!!

Furthemore, the Soviets view(ed) themselves as vastly superior in the arts to all other nations. They had a term for all foreigners: Nekultura. Not cultured.

What I have read of their literature, seen of their ballet and heard of their music is impressive, but I am most impressed with the Russian common man, who is vastly more well-read than any average German.

And as far as record-keeping of the purges and the extermination of Kulak in particular and Ukranians in general, no record-keeping is needed for starvation. However, Stalin was quite careful to outline the propaganda necessity of 'eliminating' Kulaks, of which my grandfather was one. His farm was visited by the Russian security forces but he escaped with his family by mere hours, thanks to the fact that the local police chief was his friend and warned him.