--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The racist and colonial idea that the…" description: "\"“The racist and colonial idea that the Holocaust began as an elemental explosion of primitive antisemitism arose as Nazi propaganda and apologetics.”\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/timothy-snyder-882_nazi-propaganda_the-racist-and-colonial-idea-that-the-ho_1741254.jpg" --- # The racist and colonial idea that the Holocaust began as… ![“The racist and colonial idea that the Holocaust began as an elemental explosion of primitive antisemitism arose as Nazi propaganda and apologetics.” quote by Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/timothy-snyder-882_nazi-propaganda_the-racist-and-colonial-idea-that-the-ho_1741254.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/timothy-snyder-882_nazi-propaganda_the-racist-and-colonial-idea-that-the-ho_1741254.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/timothy-snyder-882_nazi-propaganda_the-racist-and-colonial-idea-that-the-ho_1741254.jpg) > ““The racist and colonial idea that the Holocaust began as an elemental explosion of primitive antisemitism arose as Nazi propaganda and apologetics.”” [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Holocaust origins are often oversimplified; Nazi propaganda used antisemitism to justify atrocities. **In simple terms:** Holocaust history is complex. Key Takeaway Study nuanced historical causes. Themes history propaganda ethics Mood serious thoughtful Type educational analytical When to use this quote - education - media analysis - public policy Key Concepts political science memory studies Questions to Reflect On - Why is it important to confront propaganda? - How can we ensure accurate historical narratives? A Different Perspective Simplification can erase victims’ experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Holocaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holocaust/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Nazi propaganda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nazi-propaganda/) ## Related quotes > [“philological training against Nazi propaganda. He noticed how Hitler’s language rejected legitimate opposition: The people always meant some people and not others (the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/philological-training-against-nazi-propaganda-he-noticed-how-hitler-s/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Victor Klemperer, a literary scholar of Jewish origin, turned his philological training against Nazi propaganda. He noticed how Hitler’s language rejected legitimate opposition: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/victor-klemperer-a-literary-scholar-of-jewish-origin-turned-his/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“the campaign in Poland is remembered as one in which an antiquated Polish army was quickly pummeled by the world’s most modern army. Polish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/the-campaign-in-poland-is-remembered-as-one-in-which-an-antiquated/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [There is no difference between Western media and Nazi propaganda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-kostitsyn/there-is-no-difference-between-western-media-and-nazi-propaganda/) [Evgeni Kostitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-kostitsyn/) > [“Hitherto, the Palestinians had been relatively immune to this Allahu Akhbar style. I thought this was a hugely retrograde development. I said as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/hitherto-the-palestinians-had-been-relatively-immune-to-this-allahu/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Nazi propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels once remarked that if a lie is told often enough people will begin to see the lie as truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/nazi-propaganda-minister-joseph-goebbels-once-remarked-that-if-a-lie/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [After a fashion, they did, mingling the sale of perfumes with anti-Nazi propaganda. In the event, my tirelessly publicised determination to wrest back control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/after-a-fashion-they-did-mingling-the-sale-of-perfumes-with-anti-nazi/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [As factual and thoughtful literature began to seep in, against the Nazis' will, and replace the reams of Nazi propaganda, I began to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-dodd/as-factual-and-thoughtful-literature-began-to-seep-in-against-the/) Martha Dodd > [Radio was used powerfully by Josef Goebbels to disseminate Nazi propaganda, and just as powerfully by King George VI to inspire the British people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/radio-was-used-powerfully-by-josef-goebbels-to-disseminate-nazi/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [Most literary critics agree that fiction cannot be reduced to mere falsehood. Well-crafted protagonists come to life, pornography causes orgasms, and the pretense that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/most-literary-critics-agree-that-fiction-cannot-be-reduced-to-mere/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“When meaning is drawn from killing, the risk is that more killing would bring about more meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/when-meaning-is-drawn-from-killing-the-risk-is-that-more-killing-2/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“In October 1941, Mahilue became teh first substantial city in occupied Soviet Belarus where almost all Jews were killed. A German (Austrian) policeman wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/in-october-1941-mahilue-became-teh-first-substantial-city-in-occupied/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“...But this number, like all the others, must be seen not as 5.7 million, which is an abstraction few of us can grasp, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/but-this-number-like-all-the-others-must-be-seen-not-as-5-7-million/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“This was a particularly spectacular example of the German campaign to gather forced labor in the East, which had begun with the Poles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/this-was-a-particularly-spectacular-example-of-the-german-campaign-to/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“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/) ## More by Timothy Snyder > [“Nationalism is relativist, since the only truth is the resentment we feel when we contemplate others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/nationalism-is-relativist-since-the-only-truth-is-the-resentment-we/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The time is out of joint. O cursed spite,/That ever I was born to set it right!” Thus Hamlet. Yet he concludes: “Nay, come,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-time-is-out-of-joint-o-cursed-spite-that-ever-i-was-born-to-set/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“the democracies that arose after the First World War (and the Second) often collapsed when a single party seized power in some combination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-democracies-that-arose-after-the-first-world-war-and-the-second/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“salami tactics—slicing off layers of opposition one by one. Most people were distracted, some were imprisoned, and others were outmatched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/salami-tactics-slicing-off-layers-of-opposition-one-by-one-most/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“We allowed ourselves to accept the politics of inevitability, the sense that history could move in only one direction: toward liberal democracy...We imbibed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/we-allowed-ourselves-to-accept-the-politics-of-inevitability-the/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The key to this translation of ideology to politics in both cases was an effective appeal to human experience at the crucial time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-key-to-this-translation-of-ideology-to-politics-in-both-cases-was/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Both of these positions, inevitability and eternity, are antihistorical. The only thing that stands between them is history itself. History allows us to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/both-of-these-positions-inevitability-and-eternity-are-antihistorical/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The whole notion of disruption is adolescent: It assumes that after the teenagers make a mess, the adults will come and clean it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-whole-notion-of-disruption-is-adolescent-it-assumes-that-after/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“As she observed, “the first essential step on the road to total domination is to kill the juridical person in man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/as-she-observed-the-first-essential-step-on-the-road-to-total/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The first mode is the open hostility to verifiable reality, which takes the form of presenting inventions and lies as if they were facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-first-mode-is-the-open-hostility-to-verifiable-reality-which/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Once we subliminally accept that we are watching a reality show rather than thinking about real life, no image can actually hurt the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/once-we-subliminally-accept-that-we-are-watching-a-reality-show/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Confidence in duration is the antidote to panic and the tonic of demagogy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/confidence-in-duration-is-the-antidote-to-panic-and-the-tonic-of/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/be-calm-when-the-unthinkable-arrives-modern-tyranny-is-terror/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Life is political, not because the world cares about how you feel, but because the world reacts to what you do. The minor choices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/life-is-political-not-because-the-world-cares-about-how-you-feel-but/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Extremism' certainly sounds bad, and governments often try to make it sound worse by using the word 'terrorism' in the same sentence. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/extremism-certainly-sounds-bad-and-governments-often-try-to-make-it/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) [Explore all 339 Timothy Snyder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-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 > [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 > [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 > [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": "“The racist and colonial idea that the Holocaust began as an elemental explosion of primitive antisemitism arose as Nazi propaganda and apologetics.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Timothy Snyder" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-racist-and-colonial-idea-that-the-holocaust-began-as-an-elemental/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Holocaust" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-racist-and-colonial-idea-that-the-holocaust-began-as-an-elemental/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/timothy-snyder-882_nazi-propaganda_the-racist-and-colonial-idea-that-the-ho_1741254.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/timothy-snyder-882_nazi-propaganda_the-racist-and-colonial-idea-that-the-ho_1741254.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/timothy-snyder-882_nazi-propaganda_the-racist-and-colonial-idea-that-the-ho_1741254.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The racist and colonial idea that the Holocaust began as an elemental explosion of primitive antisemitism…” — Timothy 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 Snyder", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The racist and colonial idea that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-racist-and-colonial-idea-that-the-holocaust-began-as-an-elemental/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-racist-and-colonial-idea-that-the-holocaust-began-as-an-elemental/#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 } } ] } ```