Endor Holocaust

The Endorian Holocaust is the theorized devastation of the forest moon of Endor after the destruction of the Death Star II (in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi) by the impact of falling debris. It has not been established to have occurred in any canon sources, but rather has been proposed by individuals in fandom as a scientifically inevitable consequence of the events portrayed.

The second Death Star was a sphere of machinery on the order of nine hundred kilometers in diameter, and it was located very close to Endor's forest moon when it exploded. Furthermore, given its close proximity and the moon's relatively Earthlike gravity, it was likely that its geostationary orbit was being artificially maintained. Much of the debris from the explosion would have subsequently rained down on the moon, producing a meteor storm of titanic proportions. The relative tranquility of the region immediately around the former shield generator in the brief celebratory scenes set there after the Death Star's destruction has been attributed to active deflection of debris from this area by Rebel forces, but the Holocaust's ecological effects are predicted to be drastic enough that this would provide only temporary respite even there.

If the Endor Holocaust occurred, it would certainly lead to the extinction of Ewoks on the forest moon of Endor. However, it has been established in Star Wars comics and novels that some Ewoks had been removed from the Endor system in the past for use as pets or slaves, so it is possible that the species itself survived even if the holocaust occurred as predicted. It should also be noted that the Return of the Jedi novelization has stated that the Emperor had issued orders that if the Rebel strike force on Endor's moon successfully disabled the shield generator the Death Star should immediately destroy the moon itself, so once the shield generator was disabled (with significant Ewok assistance) the fate of the forest moon was likely sealed.

The Forest Moon's Expanded Universe appearances
Most Expanded Universe sources maintain that the forest moon was not significantly affected by the destruction of the Death Star and life continued there as normal. One novel, X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble, includes a reference to the extinction of the Ewoks. However, author Michael J. Stackpole presents this as Imperial propaganda, and thus supposedly unreliable. Fans who believe a disaster must have occurred speculate that the well-established pro-New Republic bias in most of the literature was responsible for the apparent coverup. Another rationalization involves a rapid and strenuous effort so the planet can regain a semblance of normalcy for its later appearances, though it is not clear where the supposedly resource-strapped Rebel Alliance would find the tools to do so while continuing to fight the Empire.

In an issue of the Star Wars Tales comics, an Imperial veteran of Endor makes an apparent reference to the holocaust theory, after telling the story of his unit's trouble with the Ewoks in a bar. Another character dismisses it as a myth, saying that most of the Death Star's mass was obliterated in the explosion, and that the Rebels "took care of the rest."

In the Jedi Academy Trilogy, by Kevin J. Anderson, the character of Kyp Durron visits the site of Darth Vader's funeral pyre on the forest moon. There is no indication given in the moon has suffered any cataclysm.

Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy describes how the Rebels managed to use shields and tractor beams to protect their strike team on Endor, but by possible implication (supported by the title of "The Aftermath of Victory") dooming the rest of the forest moon to the ecological disaster.

The two Ewok telefilms (The Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: Battle for Endor) and the Ewoks cartoon series are set on a non-devastated forest moon, but the events depicted are currently set to occur some time before Return of the Jedi.

Arguments pro- and con-
The core of this argument is one between the inevitable consequences of G-canon versus C-canon. Fans who believe that Endor's ecosystem must have been destroyed state that G-canon (the films) establish that the Death Star II was destroyed over the forest moon, and without a mechanism, C-canon cannot override G-canon in direct contradiction to the laws of physics. Those fans who hold the opposing viewpoint insist that C-canon can override G-canon, because the film didn't show the debris actually hitting Endor, and that it would be uncharacteristic for the Rebel characters to callously celebrate amid a friendly population doomed by their actions.

Some fans also argue "author's intent", asserting that George Lucas intended the conclusion of Return of the Jedi to be a happy ending, and did not intend this happy ending to be spoiled by the inevitable death of almost all the Ewoks. The counter-argument holds that under suspension of disbelief, author's intent did not count, under the assumption that even a non-scientist like Lucas can hardly have thought blowing up a metallic sphere 900 km across right next to Endor in a manner that clearly produced a fragmentation pattern could possibly be good for it.

The debate continues among die-hard Star Wars fans on the internet, sporadically.