--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People in the West tend to identify with…" description: "\"People in the West tend to identify with western victims. So even when they think about the Holocaust, they really think about the German or French vic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/timothy-d-snyder-12961_holocaust_people-in-the-west-tend-to-identify-with_2361995.jpg" --- # People in the West tend to identify with western victims… ![“People in the West tend to identify with western victims. So even when they think about the Holocaust, they really think about the German or French victims; they're not thinking about the Polish, Hungarian, or Soviet victims.” quote by Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/timothy-d-snyder-12961_holocaust_people-in-the-west-tend-to-identify-with_2361995.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/timothy-d-snyder-12961_holocaust_people-in-the-west-tend-to-identify-with_2361995.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/timothy-d-snyder-12961_holocaust_people-in-the-west-tend-to-identify-with_2361995.jpg) > “People in the West tend to identify with western victims. So even when they think about the Holocaust, they really think about the German or French victims; they're not thinking about the Polish, Hungarian, or Soviet victims.” [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Western narratives often prioritize familiar victim groups, sidelining less known tragedies. **In simple terms:** History focuses on familiar victims. Key Takeaway Broaden historical awareness. Themes memory history empathy bias Mood reflective critical Type educational analytical When to use this quote - education curricula - media coverage - public discourse - museum exhibits Key Concepts historical revisionism collective memory Questions to Reflect On - Which overlooked histories should be highlighted? - How does bias shape collective memory? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on familiar victims may obscure broader suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Holocaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holocaust/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Soviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet/) [Think Holocaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-holocaust-704108/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Victims Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victims-think-1102676/) [Victims Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victims-thinking-5228717/) [Western Victims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western-victims-5786475/) ## Related quotes > [I certainly think that another Holocaust can happen again. It did already occur; think of Cambodia, Rwanda, and Bosnia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miep-gies/i-certainly-think-that-another-holocaust-can-happen-again-it-did/) [Miep Gies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miep-gies/) > [“The world is full of 'friends' of suicide victims thinking 'if I had only made that drive over there, I could have done something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darnell-lamont-walker/the-world-is-full-of-friends-of-suicide-victims-thinking-if-i-had/) [Darnell Lamont Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darnell-lamont-walker/) > [Mel Gibson's father doesn't think there was a Holocaust? Great. I don't think there's a movie. We're even.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/mel-gibson-s-father-doesn-t-think-there-was-a-holocaust-great-i-don-t/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [“One thing people wonder is why the Jews did not defend themselves, why we were like lambs led to the slaughter. In truth, many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mandelbaum/one-thing-people-wonder-is-why-the-jews-did-not-defend-themselves-why/) [Jack Mandelbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mandelbaum/) > [“Who are we to say getting incested or abused or violated or any of those things can’t have their positive aspects in the long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/who-are-we-to-say-getting-incested-or-abused-or-violated-or-any-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [If only women are talking about women's rights, then the issue has failed from the start. If you think about the Holocaust, that wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/if-only-women-are-talking-about-women-s-rights-then-the-issue-has/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [“I'm going to ask you to remember the prostituted, the homeless, the battered, the raped, the tortured, the murdered, the raped-then-murdered, the murdered-then-raped; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/i-m-going-to-ask-you-to-remember-the-prostituted-the-homeless-the/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [ And that said, this \[issues of comfort women\] is important for reopening a conversation in both Japan and in Korea and on their respective… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elise-hu/and-that-said-this-issues-of-comfort-women-is-important-for-reopening/) [Elise Hu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elise-hu/) > [The kids that were the victims ... I think we all ought to say a prayer for them,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-paterno/the-kids-that-were-the-victims-i-think-we-all-ought-to-say-a-prayer/) [Joe Paterno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-paterno/) > [Though people are more important than money, I'm not convinced these large sums of money paid out to victims is the best. Listening to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uwem-akpan/though-people-are-more-important-than-money-i-m-not-convinced-these/) [Uwem Akpan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uwem-akpan/) > [I feel a lot of sympathy for the young women I've written about, including Younger Janice. I think that all of them (me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-erlbaum/i-feel-a-lot-of-sympathy-for-the-young-women-i-ve-written-about/) [Janice Erlbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-erlbaum/) > [“The worst kind of oppression is when the victims think and talk in the language of their oppressors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/the-worst-kind-of-oppression-is-when-the-victims-think-and-talk-in/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [It is people who are violent, rather than "religions"; and since we secularised our politics we have had two major world wars, the Holocaust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/it-is-people-who-are-violent-rather-than-religions-and-since-we/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Why is it, that there's no movies, very little very little attention about the greatest Holocaust in the history of the world which was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duke/why-is-it-that-there-s-no-movies-very-little-very-little-attention/) [David Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duke/) > [Maybe I am naive, but I don't think talking about the Holocaust with total and complete cynicism is possible for Israeli politicians. It's inevitable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/maybe-i-am-naive-but-i-don-t-think-talking-about-the-holocaust-with/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) ## More by Timothy D. Snyder > [It is aspiring tyrants who say that 'civil liberties end when an attack on our safety begins.' Conversely, leaders who wish to preserve the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/it-is-aspiring-tyrants-who-say-that-civil-liberties-end-when-an/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [Americans can accept that the American Dream will not work out for them; what has been heartbreaking for so many is the sense that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/americans-can-accept-that-the-american-dream-will-not-work-out-for/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [Defend an institution. Follow the courts or the media, or a court or a newspaper. Do not speak of 'our institutions' unless you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/defend-an-institution-follow-the-courts-or-the-media-or-a-court-or-a/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [Courage does not mean not fearing or not grieving. It does mean recognizing and resisting terror management right away, from the moment of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/courage-does-not-mean-not-fearing-or-not-grieving-it-does-mean/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [In rhetoric and action, the Trump administration has aggrandized 'radical Islamic terror,' thus making what Madison called a 'favorable emergency' more likely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/in-rhetoric-and-action-the-trump-administration-has-aggrandized/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [I thought I was going to grow up and become a diplomat and negotiate nuclear arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/i-thought-i-was-going-to-grow-up-and-become-a-diplomat-and-negotiate/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [Mr. Trump is primarily a television personality. As such, he is judged by that standard. This means that a scandal does not call forth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/mr-trump-is-primarily-a-television-personality-as-such-he-is-judged/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [We think about democracy, and that's the word that Americans love to use, 'democracy,' and that's how we characterize our system. But if democracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/we-think-about-democracy-and-that-s-the-word-that-americans-love-to/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [Most Americans are exceptionalists; we think we live outside of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/most-americans-are-exceptionalists-we-think-we-live-outside-of-history/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [Every day you don't do something, it makes it less likely that you will ever do something. So you've got to get started right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/every-day-you-don-t-do-something-it-makes-it-less-likely-that-you/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/anticipatory-obedience-teaches-authorities-what-is-possible-and/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/to-abandon-facts-is-to-abandon-freedom-if-nothing-is-true-then-all-is/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [In the descent from a world of factual discourse into a world of emotions and alternative realities, the first step you take, whether you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/in-the-descent-from-a-world-of-factual-discourse-into-a-world-of/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [Maybe I am naive, but I don't think talking about the Holocaust with total and complete cynicism is possible for Israeli politicians. It's inevitable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/maybe-i-am-naive-but-i-don-t-think-talking-about-the-holocaust-with/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) > [There's a basic problem with the history of the Holocaust. The people who do it don't know the necessary languages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/there-s-a-basic-problem-with-the-history-of-the-holocaust-the-people/) [Timothy D. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) [Explore all 52 Timothy D. Snyder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/) ## More Holocaust quotes > [There are many more traits that the climate deniers share with the creationists and Holocaust deniers and others who distort the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-r-prothero/there-are-many-more-traits-that-the-climate-deniers-share-with-the/) [Donald R. Prothero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-r-prothero/) > [In my rear view mirror the sun is going down sinking behind bridges in the road and I think of all the good things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/in-my-rear-view-mirror-the-sun-is-going-down-sinking-behind-bridges/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [THE REAL PURPOSE OF HOLOCAUST REVISIONISM IS TO MAKE NATIONAL SOCIALISM AN ACCEPTABLE POLITICAL ALTERNATIVE AGAIN.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-covington/the-real-purpose-of-holocaust-revisionism-is-to-make-national/) [Harold Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-covington/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“I do not know where Viktor and Rudolf were taken. I cannot find the records. I never Elisabeth or Iggie. It is possible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/i-do-not-know-where-viktor-and-rudolf-were-taken-i-cannot-find-the/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [Arab youth are taught to wonder, 'Since the Holocaust was a European affair, why are the Palestinians being forced to pay for the creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-bronfman-sr/arab-youth-are-taught-to-wonder-since-the-holocaust-was-a-european/) [Edgar Bronfman, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-bronfman-sr/) > [Miami Beach - that's where I grew up, in a middle-class Jewish family led by my maternal grandfather. Me, my great-grandmother - a Holocaust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-ratner/miami-beach-that-s-where-i-grew-up-in-a-middle-class-jewish-family/) [Brett Ratner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-ratner/) > [I remember learning about the Holocaust when I was in kindergarten and being terrified. I think we even watched a graphic video about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-soloway/i-remember-learning-about-the-holocaust-when-i-was-in-kindergarten/) [Jill Soloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-soloway/) > [“Oskar is the fruit of those fantasies -- the idea that what needed to be saved was not just lives but hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simon/oskar-is-the-fruit-of-those-fantasies-the-idea-that-what-needed-to-be/) [Richard Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-simon/) > [Every two, three years there is a movie about the Holocaust because they want you to remember and they want you to be reminded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-foxx/every-two-three-years-there-is-a-movie-about-the-holocaust-because/) [Jamie Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-foxx/) > [The Jew always lives from the blood of other peoples, he needs such murders and such sacrifices. The victory will be only entirely and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-streicher/the-jew-always-lives-from-the-blood-of-other-peoples-he-needs-such/) [Julius Streicher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-streicher/) > [Looking at the numbers, the transatlantic slave trade matches the Holocaust in horror - maybe even without counting subsidiary effects like internal strife and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-martin-skibsted/looking-at-the-numbers-the-transatlantic-slave-trade-matches-the/) [Jens Martin Skibsted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-martin-skibsted/) > [“The Ordinary is Extraordinary ..." my motto for life as a writer/Mom/woman”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-barr/the-ordinary-is-extraordinary-my-motto-for-life-as-a-writer-mom-woman/) [Lisa Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-barr/) > [Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate -healthy virile hate- for what the German personifies and for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-jew-somewhere-in-his-being-should-set-apart-a-zone-of-hate/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Never to forget the Holocaust was not only against Jews. It was mostly against Jews but it was also against homosexuals, gypsies and, let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-westheimer/never-to-forget-the-holocaust-was-not-only-against-jews-it-was-mostly/) [Ruth Westheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-westheimer/) [Browse all 745 Holocaust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holocaust/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People in the West tend to identify with western victims. So even when they think about the Holocaust, they really think about the German or French victims; they're not thinking about the Polish, Hungarian, or Soviet victims.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Timothy D. Snyder" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/people-in-the-west-tend-to-identify-with-western-victims-so-even-when/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Holocaust" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/people-in-the-west-tend-to-identify-with-western-victims-so-even-when/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/timothy-d-snyder-12961_holocaust_people-in-the-west-tend-to-identify-with_2361995.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/timothy-d-snyder-12961_holocaust_people-in-the-west-tend-to-identify-with_2361995.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/timothy-d-snyder-12961_holocaust_people-in-the-west-tend-to-identify-with_2361995.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People in the West tend to identify with western victims. So even when they think about the Holocaust, they…” — Timothy D. Snyder", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Timothy D. Snyder", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-d-snyder/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People in the West tend to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/people-in-the-west-tend-to-identify-with-western-victims-so-even-when/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-d-snyder/people-in-the-west-tend-to-identify-with-western-victims-so-even-when/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```