America, the Holocaust, and the experience of radical evil

A closely argued refutation of the central thesis of Peter Novick's 1999 book "The Holocaust in American Life," which is that popular awareness of the Holocaust in the US has been artificially promoted by Jews with unworthy hidden agendas. For Novick, the Holocaust is "a minor and wholly unexceptional European event, completely unrelated to any aspect of American society or the American psyche." It is here suggested that this is an altogether subjective perception. The true position is that the Holocaust has acquired iconic status because it captures succinctly and forcibly the idea of Evil.