It was William Shakespeare who rhetorically asked, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” With all due apologies, I too ask, “What’s in a name?” That which we call the Holocaust by any other name would be equally as repugnant.” I could be wrong, but I don’t ever recall hearing the term “Shoah,” in my childhood. I did, however, hear other terms that I list below used to describe an indelible stain in our history.
Schlacht (slaughter): I grew up in a city which had a substantial population of those who managed to defy Hitler. There was even a local chapter of sheyres hapleitah (the remnant who escaped). When referring to the national nightmare that continued to be a festering wound, my mother would use the term, “schlacht.”
Fahrtilikoong (annihilation): Although I’m no psychologist, I cannot help but feel that referring to the Holocaust as a “fahrtilikoong” was our way of thumbing our noses at those who were Adolph supporters. Not only did the Nazi war machine fail in their “fahrtilikoong” of our people, but an argument can be made that Hitler’s grandiose plans served as a catalyst for the establishment for the state of Israel.
Oomkoom (perishment): I have never understood why “murder” was seldom used to define what took place in places such as Auschwitz, Dachau and Treblinka. I have always been abhorred when it is said that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust. The real disease was not starvation or typhus. The real disease was “Naziism.” Precious few Jews ever died because of a disease called “Naziism.” The vast majority were systematically murdered.
Churban (destruction): Personally, I feel that “churban” best describes what took place under the aegis of the Third Reich. Although no ordinal number has been assigned to it—in that a churban has befallen our people twice prior to Hitler—what occurred between the years 1939 and 1945 holds its own, when viewed in perspective of the churban of the first holy Temple destroyed by the Babylonians and the churban of the second holy destroyed by the Romans. Whereas the first Temple was destroyed because of the sins of idolatry, licentiousness and murder, and the second Temple was destroyed because of the sin of baseless hatred, the bulk of European Jewry was destroyed for the sin of being born a Jew
Whether it is the schlacht, the fahrtilikoong, the omkoom or the churban of our 6 million brothers or sisters, let us commemorate their lives in a way that their memory lives on in each of us in the most noble of ways.
Rabbi Shawn Zell has recently returned to New Jersey, after serving at a pulpit in Dallas. He possesses certification in teaching Yiddish. Rabbi Zell is the author of three books.
