In Jodi Picoult's "The Storyteller," the protagonist grapples with the haunting memories of the Holocaust, emphasizing the heartbreaking reality that six million Jews were lost during that atrocity. She questions the implications of denying this historical fact, pondering where those individuals would have gone if the Holocaust had never occurred. This reflection serves to highlight the deep scars left by such events in history.

The character's lament indicates a failure to learn from the past, as she observes ongoing issues of ethnic cleansing and discrimination in the contemporary world. The narrative underscores the importance of remembering history to prevent the repetition of similar atrocities, urging society to confront and address these persistent injustices instead of ignoring them.