The idea of the “Holocaust Industry” has permeated American public discourse for at least three decades, epitomized by the well-known slogan “There’s no business like Shoah business.” There is no consensus on who coined this phrase or what exactly constitutes this “industry,” but many authors who refer to this phenomenon agree that nowhere is the ethical imperative of the Holocaust so betrayed as by the very existence of this so-called “Shoah business.” References to it also feature in current discussions about “new anti-Semitism,” where such labeling has become a weapon for radical right-wing groups that deny the existence or the extent of the Holocaust. It is also part of a broader critique directed at Jewish communities and particularly the State of Israel for the alleged instrumentalization of Jewish suffering for political purposes.

The aim of this lecture, based on the introductory study of the book The Holocaust Industry: (American) Debate on the Instrumentalization of the Shoah (Akademska knjiga/IFDT 2024), edited by Vera Mevorah, Predrag Krstić, and Marija Velinov, is to clarify what is meant by the term “Holocaust Industry.” That is, the lecture seeks to elucidate an idea that, despite its controversial use, is often present in academic circles as a kind of bogeyman; usually as a peripheral comment on (Western) memorial culture, rather than as a precisely defined phenomenon that is actively discussed, negotiated, and for which solutions are sought.

The lecture is part of the cycle “Holocaust and Genocides in the 20th century: Open Lectures” organized by the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory of the University of Belgrade together with partners within the project “Introduction of the first MA Program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Serbia”, supported by the U.S. Embassy in Serbia. This project was supported by the U.S. Embassy Belgrade.  The opinions and  conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government.

Vera Mevorah is a research fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade (IFDT). Her PhD thesis, awared in 2016, is a pioneer study of Internet and art in Serbia. She received her BA/MA at the Music Academy in Belgrade. She is a professional flute player and experienced informal educator and activist. Main fields of her research are the study of digital culture and information society, Holocaust representation and contemporary and digital art theory. She was the coordinator of ShoahLab: Holocaust Studies Laboratory IFDT (March 2020 – January 2022) and academic coordinator for Open Society University Network (December 2020 – March 2022). She is a member of the Steering Committee of the WHISC – Women in the Holocaust International Study Center (MORESHET) and Steering Committee of the state funded “Staro Sajmište“ Memorial Center in Belgrade.