How did the holocaust affect the history of europe

Since 1945, the word has taken on a new and horrible meaning: the mass murder of some 6 million European Jews (as well as members of some other persecuted groups, such as Gypsies and homosexuals) by the German Nazi regime during the Second World War.

History matters because it helps us as individuals and as societies to understand why our societies are the way they are and what they value. ... They live in societies with complex cultures, traditions and religions that have not been created on the spur of the moment.