Reflections on the Holocaust

This symposium will consider the Holocaust or Shoah from Christian, Jewish and Muslim perspectives. It will discuss such questions as: How does the Holocaust have meaning for us today? Does the Holocaust challenge belief in a loving God? How do we acknowledge the suffering of Holocaust victims? What is the ongoing impact of the Holocaust today? There will also be an opportunity for questions and discussion at the end of the seminar, which will be facilitated by John Bishop, Professor of Philosophy at The University of Auckland.

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The Shoah as Christian Event: Theological Evil and the Fallacy of Supercession
Douglas Pratt, PhD, DTheol

The destruction (Hebrew: Shoah) of European Jewry, known as the 'Holocaust' because of the use of fire as a method of disposal, is a unique event in the history of humankind. It happened to Jews. They were not the only ones to be systematically slaughtered; they were, however, the only group targeted for destruction on the grounds of a theologically underwritten motivation of stunningly evil proportion. Not all the victims were Jews, but all Jews were victims (Elie Wiesel). And all the killers were Christian; or at least from out of a Christian context that allowed for the Holocaust to occur. As such, understanding the killers is a uniquely Christian problem. My task, as a Christian voice in the discussion, is to attempt to understand and comment upon the theology that led to the Holocaust. The Christian Church has, for the most part, since repudiated its prejudiced theology in respect to its historical stance on Jews and Judaism. Nevertheless, the Christian contribution to the absolute evil that was the Shoah remains an historical fact and a theological stumbling block to Christian self-understanding. And unless we learn from our history, we may yet be doomed to repeat it.

The Shoah and Jews
Paul Morris, PhD

The Shoah left no sector of Jewry untouched and today seven decades later we still live in its long shadow. This address looks at the major Jewish responses to the Shoah. The focus will be on memory, practices, theology, and politics in Israel and across the Diaspora. Starting with the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust in the 1940s and the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948, I will trace the changing Jewish understandings and continuing impact of the Holocaust tragedy. The reflections of two generations of Jewish thinkers, writers and commentators will also be surveyed.

What has Auschwitz to do with Mecca?
Zain Ali, MA

Muslim discourse on the holocaust is often dominated by the geopolitics of the Muslim world. I will consider some reasons why many Muslims are reluctant to acknowledge the holocaust on its own terms. My aim is to look beyond geopolitical concerns and considering ways in which Muslims may acknowledge the holocaust. I also draw on the tradition of Islam and discuss how we can sympathetically respond to the suffering of the holocaust victims.