Holocaust trivialization is the term used to describe the metaphorical (or otherwise comparative) use of the word "Holocaust." Numerous authors argue that such uses trivialize the meaning of the Holocaust, and many consider them offensive. In the words of Holocaust survivor and novelist Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel

Sir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...

,

I cannot use [the word 'Holocaust'] anymore. First, because there are no words, and also because it has become so trivialized that I cannot use it anymore. Whatever mishap occurs now, they call it 'holocaust'. I have seen it myself in television in the country in which I live. A commentator describing the defeat of a sports team, somewhere, called it a 'holocaust'. I have read in a very prestigious newspaper published in California, a description of the murder of six people, and the author called it a holocaust. So, I have no words anymore.

David Stannard

David Stannard

David Edward Stannard is an American historian and Professor of American Studies at the University of Hawaii. He is particularly known for his book American Holocaust , on the genocide of the native American population.-Early life:He was born to Florence E. Harwood Stannard and David L. Stannard,...

 argued in 1996 that attempts to eliminate Holocaust comparisons belittle other events of comparable magnitude.

Further reading

• Holocaust Trivialization by Manfred Gerstenfeld, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
  Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
  The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is a public policy think tank devoted to research and analysis of critical issues facing the Middle East. The center is located in Jerusalem, Israel...
  
  
• The Holocaust in Historical Context by Steven T. Katz
• A Name for Extermination by Anna-Vera Sullam Calimani; Accessed 23/09/07 through JSTOR
  JSTOR
  JSTOR is an online system for archiving academic journals, founded in 1995. It provides its member institutions full-text searches of digitized back issues of several hundred well-known journals, dating back to 1665 in the case of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society...
  
  
• A blanket ban on Holocaust denial would be a serious mistake, by Timothy Garton Ash of The Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...