‘Never right to make comparisons’? Holocaust memory, climate crisis, and the debate over appropriate discourse

Abstract

This article considers the relationship between the Holocaust and the increased threat of mass violence due to climate change. Extreme weather events, resource deprivation, and population movements are likely to cause societal stresses which make genocide more likely, but the link between this and memory of the Holocaust has proven contentious in public life. Starting with Archbishop Justin Welby’s apology for citing the Holocaust in reference to future genocides during international climate negotiations in 2021, this article considers the history and causes of such controversy, and draws on two parallel debates concerning references to the Holocaust amidst discussions of animal suffering and the refugee crisis. It is argued that, ultimately, there are ways in which it is reasonable, and indeed useful, to bring Holocaust memory into dialogue with the climate crisis and threats of future mass atrocity. Consideration is given to how concepts of bystander behaviour and denial resonate across each context, but also how the issue of resource deprivation prompts us to reconsider the manner in which the Holocaust is often treated as the dominant example of how genocide develops. As a whole, the article draws together varied public and academic commentary on the link between Holocaust memory and the climate crisis, but argues, despite the controversies, for a more nuanced conceptualisation of their relationship.