The word holocaust is derived from the Greek holokauston, a translation of the Hebrew word ‘olah meaning a burnt sacrifice offered whole to God. This brief video raises awareness of persecution that reached beyond the limits of Europe – to forgotten places.
Most awareness of the Nazi holocaust involved European Jews, but it did not end there. It did not stop at the borders of European civilization.
This video recaptures the memory of forgotten places in Africa where Italian and French colonies as well as Arab governments contributed to the imprisonment and murder of innocent Jewish men women and children.
Following their liberation from imprisonment Yiddish speaking people referred to their experience as the Hurban, while Israeli and French victims used the less universal word Sho’ah. In these days of revived global anti-Semitism it is important to shed the light of truth upon all the places where hatred flourished – even the forgotten ones.
Written by Richard Paracka
