Genocide

1. Genocide

2. Genocide • the organized, systematic destruction of an identifiable group

3. genocide“: the systematic extermination of a nationality or group” • Combines Greek “geno” meaning “race” or “tribe” with the Latin “cide” from “cadere” meaning “killing” • This term was coined by Raphael Lemkin as a direct result of the Holocaust.

4. The Holocaust • the annihilation of the Jews and other groups of people of Europe under the Nazi regime during World War II • 11 million people exterminated, 6 million Jews • Shot, starved, gassed, burned, worked to death • Stripped of rights, segregated, put into concentration camps, exterminated • “life unworthy of life”

5. The Holocaust: Factors of Hate • Stripped of German citizenship • Banned from German schools/universities • Forced to carry ID cards • Jewish synagogues destroyed • Forbidden marriages between Jews and Aryans • Possessions were confiscated • Heads shaved, arms tattooed • Men, women, children were separated • Inhumane medical experiments

6. Characteristics of Genocide • Genocide, as defined by the United Nations in 1948, means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, including: • Killing members of the group • Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group • Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part • Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group • Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

7. The Evolution of Human Rights • Human rights refers to the idea that  • A number of improvements on rights were made in the early twentieth century, but  • The charter of the new United Nations signed by 44 countries on June 26, 1945, included a pledge of “universal respect for, and observance of, human rights” • The charter also protected  • After the war, in 1945-46, an international tribunal was held at Nuremberg in Germany to try a number of leading Nazis under the new charge of “crimes against humanity” • “Crimes against humanity” include:

8. The Genocide Convention (December 9, 1948) • Very first international human rights convention Article 1: Signing governments confirm that genocide is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and punish Article 2: Defines genocide as committing any of the following acts “with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group”: Article 3: states that the following are against the Genocide Convention

9. Eight Stages of Genocide – Gregory Stanton 1) Classification: 2) Symbolization: 3) Dehumanization: 4) Organization: 5) Polarization: 6) Preparation: 7) Extermination: 8) Denial:

10. Video/Documentary – DarfurThe Devil Came on Horseback • http://www.thedevilcameonhorseback.com/ • Clip: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPOyl7BLO10 • Interview:BrianSteidle The Author of The Devil Came on Horseback • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX3Rjb5mN8w&feature=related

11. Activity: Case Study • Rwanda • Apartheid • Sudan • Cambodia • Darfur • Bosnia • Armenia

12. Activity • Read the case study you have been assigned • Pull out characteristics from the Pyramid of Hate that are relevant within the case study • Highlight the characteristics! • Meet with your group- discuss!  • Debrief • Class discussion regarding genocide, human rights, acknowledging “us” versus “them”

13. International Response • National governments and world leaders have been criticized for their failure to take action which could have saved millions • Pope Pius XII did not publicly speak out against the murder of the Jews during the Holocaust • the Vatican did take some action to save many Jews in Italy from deportation by sheltering several hundred Jews in the catacombs of St. Peter's Basilica • International Committee of the Red Cross did little to save Jews • Suggested that by aiding Jewish prisoners would harm its ability to save other Allied POW’s, threat to Switzerland

14. The Rwandan Genocide • Mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda's Tutsis by the Hutu dominated government • Lasted approximately 100 days • Estimated death toll ranged between 500,000 and 1,000,000

15. The Rwandan Genocide: Factors of Hate • given ID cards which specified an ethnic group • lighter coloured Rwandans were Tutsi – minority • darker skinned Rwandans were Hutu – majority • Tutsi men, women, children were separated • Sometimes forced to be Hutu slaves • Tutsi women were often referred to as "gypsies" and frequently fell victim to sexual violence • Hutu civilians were instructed to kill their Tutsi neighbours or be killed

16. History Repeats Itself • Consider the widely held belief that it is important to learn from the mistakes of the past in order to ensure we don’t repeat them. Why didn’t the lessons learned from the World War II Holocaust (over 50 years ago) prevent the Rwandan genocide (15 years ago) or the current genocide occurring in Darfur?