Re: Manny. Delete my account.....
"Should I believe, then, that Europeans generally believe that those who question numbers and historical accounts should be locked up and silenced?"
No, this particular sanction is reserved for people who actively deny the holocaust, people who belong to Neo-Nazi organisations and people who disseminate pro-Nazi propaganda.
[You asked for a definition of the word holocaust at some point - this from the OED
noun
• 1 destruction or slaughter on a mass scale, especially caused by fire or nuclear war:a nuclear holocaust
• (the Holocaust) the mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi regime during the period 1941-5. More than 6 million European Jews, as well as members of other persecuted groups, were murdered at concentration camps such as Auschwitz.
• 2 historical a Jewish sacrificial offering which was burnt completely on an altar.
Origin:
Middle English: from Old French holocauste, via late Latin from Greek holokauston, from holos 'whole' + kaustos 'burnt' (from kaiein 'burn')
Collins dictionary
noun
great destruction or loss of life or the source of such destruction, esp fire
Also called: the Churban, the Shoah usually capital the mass murder of Jews and members of many other ethnic, social, and political groups in continental Europe between 1940 and 1945 by the Nazi regime
a rare word for burnt offering
Derived Forms
ˌholoˈcaustal, ˌholoˈcaustic adjective
Word Origin
C13: from Late Latin holocaustum whole burnt offering, from Greek holokauston, from holo- + kaustos, from kaiein to burn
Websters dictionary
ho·lo·caust
noun \ˈhō-lə-ˌkȯst, ˈhä- also -ˌkäst or ˈhȯ-lə-kȯst\
the Holocaust : the killing of millions of Jews and other people by the Nazis during World War II
: an event or situation in which many people are killed and many things are destroyed especially by fire
Full Definition of HOLOCAUST
1
: a sacrifice consumed by fire
2
: a thorough destruction involving extensive loss of life especially through fire <a nuclear holocaust>
3
a: often capitalized : the mass slaughter of European civilians and especially Jews by the Nazis during World War II —usually used with the
b : a mass slaughter of people; especially : genocide
See holocaust defined for English-language learners »
See holocaust defined for kids »
Examples of HOLOCAUST
The museum is devoted to the Holocaust.
There were fears of a nuclear holocaust.
Origin of HOLOCAUST
Middle English, from Late Latin holocaustum, from Greek holokauston, from neuter of holokaustos burnt whole, from hol- + kaustos burnt, from kaiein to burn — more at caustic
First Known Use: 13th century]
"Do you guys really want my opinion on this?"
Not really.
Lets let everyone who wants to find out more go and do it for themselves and keep our own council on what we believe.