Ever since the publication of Bloodlands in 2010 and Black Earth in 2015, U.S. historian Timothy Snyder has been credited with dramatically reshaping our understanding of Nazi and Stalinist crimes. He has become a globally known thinker, solicited by the media the world over. This article presents a critical look at Snyder’s analyses, which have prompted widely opposing reactions from historians. It demonstrates that the “bloodlands” concept does not lead to a productive spatial decentering but, on the contrary, offers a dated and simplified reading of German and Soviet history based on a comparative stance that exaggerates similarities and a hypothetical interactionist paradigm. This article also emphasizes the weak heuristic value of the state destruction argument, which is presented as an overarching explanation for the extermination of Europe’s Jews. Finally, it questions the relevance of the lessons Timothy Snyder, in the guise of an intellectual-prophet, draws from the Holocaust.