Was the Holocaust a ‘Colonial Crime’?

Was the Holocaust a 'Colonial Crime'? Legacies of Colonial Violence and the German War of Annihilation 1941-1945

Dr Stephan Malinowski, DAAD Lecturer at the School of History, Classics and Archaeology

The lecture will present some of the main issues and controversies linked to a debate which deals with nothing less than a reassessment of extreme violence in the 20th century. Recent comparative genocide studies have challenged the uniqueness of the Holocaust. While an inflationary political use of the term 'Holocaust' for other examples of modern violence tends to damage its historical and analytical value comparisons with colonial violence have generated a couple of innovative questions. Did European colonial violence, the rule over vast territories, the use of local auxiliary troops and concentration camps, the application of racism, the travels into the 'heart of darkness' and eventually the organization of mass murder inform, influence and shape the Nazis’ ideology and practice of annihilation in Eastern Europe?

These are some of the highly controversial questions that Dr. Malinowski’s lecture will address. After the lecture, there will be opportunity for discussion.

Booking: Places must be booked online in advance at:

For inquiries, please contact Dr Fabian Hilfrich (Fabian.Hilfrich@ed.ac.uk).