'Faith, ethics and the holocaust': Christological symbolism of the holocaust

Christ's Passion and Crucifixion have proved to be among the most popular and enduring symbols of the Holocaust in art. This paper analyzes the bases for this symbolism. It points up the identification of Christ as a Jewish martyr before and during the war, the reinforcement of that identification when cruciform corpses were discovered in the camps, and the use of this symbolism to accuse Christianity in general and the Church in particular for not having taken a more positive stand in saving the Jews during the Holocaust. Both Christian and Jewish artists are discussed and the similarities and differences between them in their handling of the subject are analyzed.