The Holocaust was a European phenomenon. English was not the first language of either the victims of the perpetrators, but the study of the Holocaust and the debates about its implications have taken place mainly in English-speaking countries. English is therefore the main medium through which the phenomenon has been represented to the world As a result, large quantities of primary source material have been translated into English, and many conclusions have been drawn form texts read only in translation. The author discusses how far translation has altered the interpretations of the Holocaust. The article concentrates primarily on the evidence of eyewitnesses, because these eyewitness accounts have been often used by researchers to support or discredit a variety of contradictory interpretations of events. Apart form its immediate historical context, the article questions the role of translation in shaping our knowledge of the past.