Anthology: The Tragedy Of Genocide

Thee last couple of weeks we have been talking about genocide and the eight stages to identify it. We have also talked about three or four cases of genocide for example the Nazi genocide or the Rwandan genocide. And after looking over the stories and comparing them they all have many commonalties either in their planning or in the actions that they all took throughout the genocide. Some of these commonalties are the usage of propaganda as recruitment, the planning of the genocides, and finally hatred towards a certain race or religion.

In the book “An Ordinary Man” by Paul Rusesabagina, it taught important lessons that came out of the Rwandan genocide, such as detecting early signs of genocide to prevent it and the calamities that a lack of international response brings. First, one critical part of preventing genocide is recognizing the indications that precede it. For example, Paul explains the history between the Hutus and Tutsis and the creation of an ethnic division between them. He supplies, “... all people in Rwanda received identity cards known as books that specified their ethnic class.” and explains the preaching of Tutsi superiority in their country (page 23).

“How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don’t think” (Hitler, Mein Kampf). As time passed, there has been many times in history where a genocide has occurred. A genocide is a one-sided massacre from one party toward an ethnic or different group of people. As genocides occurred, questions such as “Why do people kill?” and “How can people allow these atrocities to occur?” are asked. There have been many theories made up as people researched the reason behind genocides. Throughout different centuries in history, genocides such as the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, and the Asian genocide, have occurred because of the negative psychological effects on the people caused by propaganda, corrupted leaders, and differences in ethnic groups.

In 1994, a tragedy occurred in Rwanda where millions of Tutsis’, the minority, were brutally murdered by the Hutu, the majority. This event is known as the Rwandan genocide and left many people wondering what could have caused this devastating event to occur. Over the years, many theories have surfaced and among those were the theories of Peter Uving. In both Why Did People Participate in Genocide? A Theoretically Informed Synthesis and The Condition of Structural Violence Peter Uvin seeks to explain why violence occurs in society. Nevertheless, the two articles are different in the sense that Why Did People Participate in Genocide? A Theoretically Informed Synthesis is primarily focused on the other theories which include political scientists,

Hollie Nyseth Brehm’s article, “The Crime of Genocide”, digs deep into the violent conditions and acts that eventually cause genocides. To begin with, genocide refers to a deliberate or intentional act of committing an action that destroys the existence of an ethic, racial or religious group of

In the past 150 years, tens of millions of men, women and children have lost their lives to ethnic cleansing or genocide. Although the definition is often scrutinized, according to Merriam Webster, "Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political or cultural group". The most notable event associated with the term is the Holocaust. Stated by Judah Gribets, Edward Greenstein and Regina Stein, "nearly six million Jews fell victim to genocide during the years of the Holocaust". Of This number, one million were children who were unable to take care of themselves. People's hopes and dreams for the future were stripped from them, and many families were ripped apart. Many of these people were tortured or raped

“At the beginning of the world,” said the Portuguese Jesuit Manuel de Nóbrega in 1559, “all was homicide.” Blood and Soil focuses on the six centuries since 1400, the period historians term “the modern era.” The main features of modern genocidal ideology emerged then, from combinations of religious or racial hatred with territorial expansionism and cults of antiquity and agriculture. This book charts the slow development of modern genocidal racism against a background of sectarian warfare, ancient models, and worldwide conquest of new territory with accompanying visions of its idealized cultivation. I used this book to further my knowledge on the three main genocides I am studying which are, the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, and the Rwandan Genocide. The chapter that were most useful to me were: “The Armenian Genocide: National Chauvinism in the Waning Ottoman Empire”, “Blut und Boden: Germany and Nazi Genocide”, and “From the Mekong to the Nile: Genocide in Cambodia and Rwanda”. These chapters provided insightful information on the causes of the genocides and explained the events of the three

"The History Place - Genocide in the 20th Century: The Nazi Holocaust 1938-45." The History Place - Genocide in the 20th Century: The Nazi Holocaust 1938-45. The History Place, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.

Genocide, one of the most horrendous and unexplainable events, has been a disgraceful phenomenon in the human society. The Holocost, Aremania, Rwanda, and Darfur are just a few examples of the cruelty between humans. They say that through our history and past we learn our mistakes to prevent it, but what very little people know is that genocide is a reoccurring event that has not been stopped. The documentary “Genocide: Worse than War” mentions genocides in history dating back to the Armenian genocide while also questioning the participants of the Rwanda genocide.

The United States, as a leading world power that owes much of their foundation and rise to power to colonization, holds a responsibility to recognize and prevent acts of genocide. Outside countries cannot be excused for and must be held accountable for their actions during times of crisis, for their passive (and direct) endorsement of systematic annihilation as had happened during the Rwanda Genocide. Western countries especially cannot distance themselves from such issues, cannot claim “innocence” when it is their lack of action and indifference that allowed for such atrocities to occur.

“I believe the only time we call for intervention is when there is an ongoing genocide” – Bianca Jagger. Looking at the world’s response to the persecution of specific groups of people, the past shows us there is something wrong with how the world views genocide. Of course, any viable human conscience gawks at the news of the most recent minority being wiped out by a ruling power, but this tardy response does nothing to combat the atrocities. Currently, the only response the world implements comes after thousands, or even millions of people have already lost their lives. Truly combating genocide is a battle that must be fought before it ever begins. In partnership with the United States Holocaust Museum, the United States Institute for Peace has developed a program called the Genocide Prevention Task Force. This task force works closely with current government officials to develop a type of plan. A plan that has levels of structure that does more than just respond to future genocide. Spreading the word for prevention though the Genocide Prevention Task Force, will do more to combat genocide than any other approach.

Genocide is “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, ethnic, political, or cultural group”. In Rwanda for example, the Hutu-led government embraced a new program that called for the country’s Hutu people to murder anyone that was a Tutsi (Gourevitch, 6). This new policy of one ethnic group (Hutu) that was called upon to murder another ethnic group (Tutsi) occurred during April through June of 1994 and resulted in the genocide of approximately 800,000 innocent people that even included women and children of all ages. In this paper I will first analyze the origins/historical context regarding the discontent amongst the Hutu and Tutsi people as well as the historical context as to why major players in the international

Genocide is one of the worst crimes against humanity and it still continues today. The definition of the word genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. Compared with war crimes and crimes against humanity, genocide is generally regarded as the most offensive crime. Unlike war, where the attack is general and the object is often the control of a geographical or political region. Genocide attacks go after an individual’s identity and the object is control, or complete elimination, of a group of people. The history of genocide in the 20th century includes the 1915 genocide of Armenians by

Genocide, a dire event, has been recurring time and time again throughout history. In the past, there was the Holocaust, where Hitler exterminated over six million Jews based on his anti-semitic views. Elie Wiesel, a Jewish author, has become a very influential man in educating the world of the true events of the Holocaust due to his involvement in the disaster. Presently, a genocide is occurring in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, in which according to Cheryl Goldmark, “a systematic slaughter of non-Arab residents at the the hands of Arab militiamen called Janjaweed” has been taking place since 2003. (1) Not only is genocide a tragic historical event, it also continuously occurs today.

Genocide is one of the evillest moral crimes any ruling authority such as a government can commit against its people and it happens more than we think. A general definition of Genocide is the intention to destroy or murder people because of their race, beliefs, or even political and economic status. As we have been taught in this course Raphael Lemkin, created the term ‘Genocide’ 1944. Lemkin combined the ancient Greek word ‘genos’ which means race and the Latin word ‘cide’ which translates to killing. There are many examples of genocide in the world but the most recognizable is that of the Holocaust and how the German powers that be sought and attempted to kill all Jews. A recent example is the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 where the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana caused a violent reaction resulting in mass killings. In efforts to reduce Genocide, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (UNCG) was adopted by the United Nations in 1948 and was placed in force in 1951. On July 1, 2002 the International Criminal Court (ICC) came into force. The ICC not only accepted the UNCG’s definition of Genocide but expanded it to include crimes against humanity such as enslavement, deportation, torture, rape, enforced disappearance and apartheid. There have been many organizations created throughout the world to defend and prevent genocide and even communities, religions and even colleges are forming organizations and these are just some examples of how