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Congo Mass Killings

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During the 1900s, there were two mass killings that occurred: one in Nazi Germany and the other in the Congo Free State. Although these mass killings developed due to different motives, the two lead to a significant amount of deaths and mutilations. The mass killings in Nazi Germany are now known as the Holocaust, which took place from 1933 to 1945. The perpetuators of these killings were the Nazis, who were supporters of the beliefs of the Nazi Party in Germany, while the victims were mainly Jewish people and non-Aryans, which were seen as inferior races. On the other hand, the Force Publique, an army made of Europeans and local men under King Leopold, committed the killings and other acts of violence against the indigenous tribes and natives …show more content…

This science could be used to change people’s thoughts and coerce them into behaving a certain way. This is for two major reasons: people are fueled by self-improvement and rewards and people are influenced by other people around them. In Nazi Germany, the general public’s psyche was shaped by the propaganda used by the Nazis. The officials in the Congo Free State, however, provided their soldiers with incentives. Employing ideas rooted in psychology, the Nazis and the officials of the Congo Free State were able to control and manipulate people in order to warrant the …show more content…

This is portrayed by the drastic improvements that occurred in the Congo Free State, according to Frederick Starr. During King Leopold’s rule over the Congo Free State, there have been experiments and research conducted in the area, which have been valuable not only to the people of the Congo. To being with, the bacteriological institute was established to study tropical diseases, especially sleeping sickness. In addition, botanical gardens have been developed in the Congo to test the uses of indigenous plants and possibly using these plants make advances. Frederick Starr has claimed investigations and experiments within the Congo State have always “found the government interested in furthering and aiding their studies.” In this case, science has improved and civilized the native population of the Congo. Although science was also used to better the lifestyles of the native population, Starr claimed that the atrocities that the indigenous tribes experienced outweighed the improvements. This is because Starr claimed that he would rather have the forces kill him outright, instead of advancing his state to only murder him later. This shows that the science in regards to psychology used to promote the atrocities trumped the science and development used to civilize the

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