Common Causes Of Genocide

By establishing humans as inherently capable of evil, and perpetrators of evil as no less human, Hatzfield encourages a nuanced understanding of the causes of genocide. In doing so, Hatzfield warns readers of the ease with which genocide can take place and cautions against allowing prejudice to take hold in communities. In Rwanda, Hutus lived with Tutsis as friends and neighbors mere days prior to slaughtering them. However, the groundwork for the massacres “was the result of plans and preparations formulated essentially by collective decision” long before the genocide began (52). Radio propaganda drove tensions far in advance, and the assassination of the Hutu president was not the reason for the genocide but the signal for it to finally begin. Hatzfield establishes this point by humanizing the Hutus. One of the interviewees explains that when “you receive a new order, you hesitate but you obey, or else you’re taking a risk. When you have been prepared the right way by the radios and the official advice, you obey more easily, even if the order is to kill your neighbors” (71). While this could easily be dismissed as an excuse born of fear and guilt, understanding the truth of this statement is crucial to the prevention of further mass violence; indeed, if the preparation through propaganda and conditioning can be identified,

Genocides occur across our globe from the past, but also are not uncommon in the present. Holodomor was a horrible genocide in the Soviet Union from 1932-1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. This cruelty of a slow death by starving was a purposeful act by Joseph Stalin and the leaders at that time. To cease further genocides in our world today, it is imperative to know how this corruption and disaster starts, so it can be prevented in the future. By understanding the Soviet leader’s motives and the lives affected by this famine, this will lead to further comprehension about power and communism. Power corrupts those who are given the authority, infringes upon their morals, and can make them commit horrible atrocities.

In the first part of Hochschild’s book, he describes the actions and desires that led King Leopold to seize the Congo Free State, the rules he broke and how he manipulated the nations with his righteousness of combating slavery- even though figured such as George Williams and ____ began speaking out against him. Hochschild describes King Leopold II as rude, revolting and awkward as he was growing up. His characteristics only began to drift towards persuasive and cunning when he discovered his curiosity in the colonization of new land. Conveniently, many European countries had no interest in colonization. When Leopold gained power, and searched for his lovely colony, their ambivalence resulted in him creating a colony on his own account.

Walking briskly through the halls of school, a boy knocks into someone and their papers fall. Do you have the courage to stop to help them? Or do you keep following the mainstream flow of students through the corridors? Most importantly, does any of this really matter? The answer is, yes it does. As of right now, in 2016, according to CNN’s Genocide Tracker, “over 36.9 million people have died around the world due to genocide.” Genocide is defined most commonly as the systematic and purposeful extermination of a specific group due to race, religion, ethnicity, gender association, political affiliation, disabilities, and more. Mass killings have been happening as early as the 1700’s when the Chinese Manchu Qing Dynasty systematically killed the Dzungar Buddhist peoples. Since then, over 30 documented genocides and even more undocumented genocides have occurred. Knowing this awful fact, we must begin to look into what ways can humans yield psychological courage, to cease global genocides. From a psychological perspective, these mass killings make one wonder how a human could commit such sadistic and horrific crimes against other humans. The reason may be found in the psychology of why people fear, why people form groups, and why people are so willing to go along with the majority. In short, to battle genocides, society must not only understand the psychology behind fear, group mentality, and why people conform, but have the courage to break out of these psychological

Genocide is rightfully seen as one of the most emotionally heavy words in the English language. When many people think of genocide, they might correlate the word to the attempted, and nearly successful, extermination of the Jewish people during World War II. To stand by and watch fellow human beings killing each other because of their race, religion, sexuality, etc., leads many to conclude those who stand by are just as guilty as those who commit the act. Unfortunately, countless horrendous acts are kept silent from the global eye, as the film The Devil Came on Horseback intends to show us. Anne Sundeburg’s 2007 documentary, The Devil Came on Horseback, creatively uses persuasion techniques, which include: the credibility of Marine Brian

It is difficult to image the Holocaust without Adolf Hitler. It was Hitler, a charismatic leader, that was able to convince thousands of Germans that the Jewish individuals in their country were subhuman. It was Hitler that called on ordinary people to carry out the extermination of the so called sub-human Jews. Collective violence comes in multiple forms - from riots to genocides, but in all cases someone must light the fire and inspire others to join. Instigators fill this role; they provide the ideas, shape the thinking and mold the behavior of the perpetrators who execute the violence. Instigators are looked to for guidance and alone are able to attract mass followings (Mandel, 2002). Without these two integral traits, an organization’s

Humankind never seems to learn from its mistakes. Throughout history, there have been multiple occurrences of humans rights violations, most notably genocide. According to the United Nations, genocide is “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group” (“What is Genocide?”). All genocides should be perceived as a serious crime against humanity, regardless of the number of people who perished. Still, while some genocides like the Holocaust are more well-known, others do not receive the recognition they deserve. In recent years, more victims have begun to speak up and share their stories. However, in cases such as the Cambodian Genocide, the world has only fleetingly glanced at the atrocities. In fact, the Cambodian Genocide is one of the most overlooked genocides in history due to the deceitful Khmer Rouge regime, the tragedies that befell the victims, and the international community’s selfish actions.

It has been said by many people, such as Allah in verse 46 in surat Fussilat, “Whosoever does righteous good deed it is for (the benefit of) his own self, and whosoever does evil, it is against his own self, and your Lord is not at all unjust to (His) slaves,” (Fussilat 41:46), meaning that everyone is responsible for their own actions. Adolf Hitler is no longer alive therefore saying that he is living proof could not be justified. Leaving behind the fact that he is no longer alive, it can still be said that he was once proof that not everyone is responsible for their own actions. Some Historians blame Hitler for all of the killings he made. However, they do not think of what could have been the reason behind his genocide in the Holocaust. The large amount of casualties might not have an explanation, or at least that is what people think. Had the people kept in consideration that for every cause there is an effect though?

Before determining what drives and sustains genocide, it is important to define the meaning of the term. The community of scholars that currently study genocide was once small. Two incidents widened the study of genocide; the first was the end of the Cold War, which raised the international community’s awareness of human rights, which genocide falls under. Secondly, there was mass killings of civilians in Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and Darfur. Which heightened the international community’s sense of urgency, which was necessary to prevent further acts of genocide. According to Straus, “No two authors under review share the same definition of the term and as a result the authors end up explaining fairly different phenomena” (Straus 2007, p. 479). The

Kofi Annan once said “a genocide begins with the killing of one man- not for what he has done, but because of who he is.” The meaning of genocide is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group. In the Cambodian Genocide 1-2 million innocent people were killed, in the Rwandan Genocide an estimated 800,000-1 million people were slaughtered over the course of 100 days, and in the Holocaust 12 million were killed. Through studying the Cambodian Genocide, Rwandan Genocide, and Holocaust it is clear that genocide does not just happen, it is prepared for. Throughout history, many atrocities occur which then leads to genocide. The causes of these genocides occurring is due to greed

Since the beginning of time itself, human beings have had the capability to experience emotions. In many cases, these emotions would lead them to act irrationally, causing chaos and destruction of their own kind. Genocides are a living proof of this claim. When humans justify the means of their barbaric treatment of others. Genocides prove that the feeling of hatred in a person allows them to be capable of atrocities beyond imagination.

Collective behaviour can be separated into two divisions, crowds and masses, which can be further subdivided, one of the most dangerous being an acting crowd. During World War II, an acting crowd known as the Nazi party brought forward the massacre of millions. After the war, in 1943 Raphael Lemkin, a Jewish-Polish lawyer, created the term genocide to describe the mass extermination of various groups. He combined Latin word “genos” (race or tribe) with another Latin term “cide” (to kill). After the holocaust, Dr. Lemkin fought for the recognition of genocide under international law. Thanks to his efforts, the UN Convention of Genocide was created. (Analysis: Defining Genocide 2) Today, genocide is seen as one of the most heinous crimes

Genocide is a crime that has occur countless time in human history. It is a heinous act that not only result in one effect but many unexpected and violent effects. Many innocent lives lost, forceful immigration, economic and political conflicts, a rise in discrimination and racism, and numerous other issues to far to count. Major genocides that have left a historic ingrained stain upon history are the Armenia genocide, the Holocaust, the Bosnia and Cambodia genocide and most notably, in the spring of 1994, the Rwanda Genocide. Each of these genocides share similarities of conflict, death, brutality and even possibly mortality rates. Even most profoundly the similarity the responsibility the government had. In “Cri de Coeur” (Dallaire, R. 2003) by Romeo Dallaire and Terry George’s “Hotel Rwanda” (George, T. 2005), we see two different narratives that portrays the tragedy that took place in Rwanda. By use of concrete language, a guilty remorseful tone and descriptive anecdotes, Dallaire allows the reader to visualize and imagine everything that took place in the spring of 1994. On the other hand, George’s visual recount of the genocide provides the audience a clearer, more real image allowing them to grasp the issue at hand: experience a “first hand” perspective and deeply empathize with the victims.

When someone mentions the reign of Adolf Hitler and the path of destruction he left, people shudder at the devastation he caused. Every year when September 11th rolls around, thousands are left crying in remembrance of the deadly terrorist attack that hits home for every American. These are only two of the most significant mass killings that have left the world in shock. They’re known for the brutal tactics, the terror they inflicted, and most of all, the number of people killed. Despite the widespread remembrance of these two major events, many people seem to brush off the several conflicts that occur all around the world. For instance, the Rwandan Genocide and the horrendous actions that occured have shaped how Rwanda is today, yet aren’t known to the rest of the world. After years of ethnic conflicts arising between the Hutus and the Tutsi, the tensions finally hit their highest in 1994. In a span of 100 days, people were killed by the thousands while the world stood by and watched. Today, Rwanda is used as a reminder to the United Nations as their failure to put an end to the genocide.

In history, there has been many acts of genocide in which nations had to determine their level of involvement. Regarding crimes against humanity, all nations around the world should get involved. Moral obligations and the loss of innocent lives should be a driving factor for outside nations to put an end to rising conflict. In the past, deciding to send the United Nations into a crisis-ridden country without military intervention has rarely put an end to any humanitarian crimes. A more effective solution to end world crimes would be from military involvement. If outside nations took initiative, genocide would not be an issue. Imagining the world-wide magnitude to which a crime could create should be enough force for world leaders to become involved. Around the world, citizens should also feel a moral responsibility to bring light to crimes against humanity. Throughout history, many genocides have flown under the radar without the rest of the world knowing, because no world leaders listened and created any change. The UN alone does not have the ability to cease violence without outside help. Crimes against humanity wouldn’t exist with international efforts.