The flip side of the post–World War II cries of “Never again” was an unspoken “Never before.” The insistence on lifting the Holocaust out of history, the failure to recognize these patterns, and the refusal to see where the Nazis fit inside the arc of colonial genocides have all come at a high cost. The countries that defeated Hitler did not have to confront the uncomfortable fact that Hitler had taken pointers and inspiration on race-making and on human containment from them, leaving their innocence not only undisturbed but also significantly strengthened by what was indeed a righteous victory.

XREF: Connects to scholarship on colonial genocide precedents and the 'Never again' framing — resonates with postcolonial critiques of Holocaust exceptionalism in Western historiography.

Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, loc. 895