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the Nazi exterminating drive, a position frequently + 3. 33 +taken in the literature. Hancock cautions against Jackel, Eberhard. "The Miserable Practice of thegeneralizing the event beyond the Jews and Gypsies, Insinuators: The Uniqueness of the National-Socialisthowever, emphasizing that no other groups were Crimes Cannot Be Denied. " Yad Vashem Studies 19targeted for destruction with the same manner and (1988): 107-113.intention as they were.Jackel strongly criticizes those historians in theHistorikerstreit who would seem to deny the uniqueness~ 3. 30 ~of the Holocaust. In an often quoted statement, heHeuser, Beatrice. "The Historikerstreit: Uniquenessand Comparability of the Holocaust. " articulates a fact he considers "obvious" and "wellGerman History known, " that "the murder of the Jews was unique6:1 (1988): 69-78.because never before had a state, with the authorityHeuser reviews those writers important to the of its responsible leader, decided and announced itsHistorikerstreit with respect to their positions on theuniqueness and comparability of the Holocaust. Sheintention to liquidate as completely as possible a certaingroup of people, including the aged, women, childrengroups them into three categories. Some believe'the and babies, and to implement the decision by meansevent to be singularly unique and incomparable. The of all the official instruments of power at its disposal. "majority hold that a comparative approach can be used Jackel, however, does not consider the "question ofto show both its singularity and its similarity to other uniqueness" to be decisive and provocatively asks,such events, accepting that comparison does not deny "Would it change anything had the National-Socialistuniqueness. Lastly, there are some like Ernst Nolte who murder not been unique?"seem to use the event's comparability in an apologistmanner, minimizing the unique elements of the Holo- *3. 34 ~caust and thus trying to mitigate the moral responsibili- Jakobovits, Immanuel. "'Faith Ethics and the Holotyof the German people for this crime.caust'. Some Personal, Theological, and ReligiousResponses to the Holocaust. " Holocaust and Genocide~ 3. 31 ~Studies 3:4 (1988): 371-381.Hilberg, Raul. "German Motivations for the Destructionof the Jews. " Jakobovits succinctly summarizes the response ofMidstream (June 1965): 23-40. the Orthodox Jewish community to the claim that theHilberg, noted historian and author of 1he De- Holocaust is unique. They deny "the uniqueness of thestruction of the European Jews, a work often referred Holocaust as an event different in kind, and not merelyto as a foundation for those who take a methodologist's in extent and barbarity, from any previous nationalposition on the uniqueness of the Holocaust, here catastrophe. " They arrive at this position by seeing theexplores the possible motivations of the Germans in destruction of European Jews as just another eventtheir attempt to destroy all Jews during the Holocaust. within the pre-ordained realm of God's providence.He introduces his article with a statement declaring the Therefore they reject any term, such as Holocaust orHolocaust's uniqueness: "in conception and execution, Shoah, that sets it apart from previous Jewish catastroitwas a unique occurance. When Adolf Hitler cameto power in 1933, a modern bureaucracy set out for thefirst time to destroy an entire people. "phes.* 3. 35 *"Jewish Values in the Post-Holocaust Future: A+ 3. 32 +"Hilberg, Raul. "The Significance of the Holocaust. " Symposium. Judaism 16:3 (Summer 1967): 266-299.This symposium on Jewish values after theIn ?he Holocaust: Ideology, Bureaucracy and Geno- Holocaust contains within it one of the earliest discuscide.Ed. by Henry Friedlander and Sybil Milton. sions of the uniqueness-universalist debate. Some ofMillwood, NY: Kraus International Publications, 1980. the major thinkers who express their ideas here areLC 80-16913. ISBN 0-527-63807-2.George Steiner, Elie Wiesel, and Emil Fackenheim.Hilberg attempts to arrive at the significance of Both Weisel and Fackenheim emphasize the Holocaust'sthe Holocaust for Western civilization. He asserts his uniqueness, whereas Steiner urges a more universalistposition that the Holocaust is unique by terming it "sui approach.generis" and "irreducibly distinct" from all otherhistorical events. The implication of this uniqueness, * 3. 36 *Hilberg says, is that "one cannot explain it in terms Katz, Steven T. "The 'Unique' Intentionality of theof anything else. ... It demands its own literature andits own sources. " Holocaust. " Modern Judaism 1:2 (September 1981):161-183.The Issue of the Holocaust as a Unique Event6l