Why do we mostly hear about Jewish victims of the Holocaust, when so many other groups were targeted as well?

by x_minus_one

To add more detail to my question... in every history class I've taken or book I've written, the Holocaust is mainly depicted as being an almost totally Jewish thing, with other victims (homosexuals, communists, etc.) being just a footnote. Obviously, I'm not saying that the Jewish victims don't deserve to be mentioned, but it seems like so many people don't realize what other atrocities were committed by the Nazis.

Why did this happen? Did mention of the other groups just fade away as time went on, or was it just never as "popular" to discuss other groups that were targeted? I've always been curious.

Thank you!

Searocksandtrees

As always, it's important to define terms. "The Holocaust" is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as

(the Holocaust) The mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi regime during the period 1941-5. ... - link

and the Online Etymology Dictionary as

... The Holocaust "Nazi genocide of European Jews in World War II," first recorded 1957, earlier known in Hebrew as Shoah "catastrophe." The word itself was used in English in reference to Hitler's Jewish policies from 1942, but not as a proper name for them. ... - link

although the word is often used more loosely to include everyone who was targeted.

Regardless, re your question of why one hears more about Jewish victims of Nazi atrocities than others, you can get started on these previous posts