A name for extermination (Hurban, Auschwitz, Genocide, Holocaust, Shoah)

Citation
Av. Sullam Calimani, A name for extermination (Hurban, Auschwitz, Genocide, Holocaust, Shoah), MOD LANG R, 94, 1999, pp. 978-999
Citations number
156
Language
INGLESE
art.tipo
Review
Categorie Soggetti
Language & Linguistics
Journal title
MODERN LANGUAGE REVIEW
ISSN journal
0026-7937 → ACNP
Volume
94
Year of publication
1999
Part
4
Pages
978 - 999
Database
ISI
SICI code
0026-7937(199910)94:<978:ANFE(A>2.0.ZU;2-G
Abstract
Over the past fifty years, among the most common names given to the extermi nation of the Jews during the Second World War are 'hurban', 'shoah', 'holo caust', 'genocide', 'final solution', and, by synechdoche, 'Auschwitz'. Thi s article illustrates how the search for a name is emblematic of the diffic ulties encountered in trying to interpret this event and to free the questi on of its emotional implications. It explains why a term with religious con notations, such as 'holocaust', has come to be so widely accepted in the En glish-speaking world, and suggests alternative names that might be preferab le to this mystifying term.