By Dr George Gilbert<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is more or less impossible to fully understand the course of the twentieth century without reference to the Holocaust. For good reasons, this human tragedy has come to dominate the historiography of genocides across vast stretches of time and place. In recent decades, however, good scholarly work after good scholarly work has wrestled with genocides of other types. This comparative work forces us to reflect on the uniqueness of the Holocaust, the ramifications of earlier and later genocides, and their collective significance across history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is an inherent scholarly importance to studying the Holocaust and related phenomena, but \u2013 in my view \u2013 the most pressing reason for disseminating that scholarly knowledge is to raise public awareness. A 2019 poll, which was the subject of an Independent<\/em>article on Holocaust Memorial Day, found that 2.6 million adults in Britain did not believe the Holocaust had happened.[1]<\/sup><\/a>This alarming level of ignorance about a tectonic event in modern and Jewish history suggests that the work of centres such as the Parkes Institute at the University of Southampton \u2013 of which I am an affiliate \u2013 and of individual researchers alike is more important than ever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I recently delivered a talk on the pogroms in late Imperial Russia as part of Oxford City Council\u2019s Holocaust Memorial Day (this year, the service was held on 27 January 2020). The service put on display insights from a variety of figures, including those with personal connections to mass murders. The theme was \u2018Stand Together\u2019, exploring how genocidal regimes throughout history have fractured societies by marginalizing different groups. The day was also dedicated to exploring how we, as individuals, can challenge this by \u2018standing together\u2019. Specifically, how can we speak out against, challenge and eventually bring a halt to oppression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n