“Like Sheep to the Slaughter”: The Evolution of a Phrase and Its Legacy in Holocaust Memory

The phrase ‘like sheep to the slaughter’ is commonly regarded as a derogatory term associated with the actions of Jewish victims during the Holocaust and attributed to Abba Kovner. This article explores its usage during World War II and the early decades of Israel’s existence, revealing that it was first used pejoratively within the Yishuv as early as 1942 when news of the European annihilation surfaced—predating knowledge of Kovner’s usage. Kovner had used the term not pejoratively, but rather in an effort to enhance defiance among ghetto residents. The negative connotations intensified after the war, especially during attempts to identify Jewish leaders deemed ‘responsible’ for the Holocaust, as in the Kastner trial, and the phrase came to function as a tool differentiating ostensibly submissive Jews in exile from those ready to resist in the Land of Israel. It also permeated the Israeli-Arab conflict, highlighting Israeli resolve to stand firm. The evolving meanings of ‘like sheep to the slaughter’ over time mirror shifting attitudes toward Holocaust survivors in Israel and serve as an example of divergent trends in the collective memory of an event, which developed even before the event had concluded.