STUDENT REPLIES
Running head: GENOCIDE 1
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Capstone Project: Genocide
Christopher McCrae
Walden University
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Abstract
Genocide is one of the worst crimes against humanity ever committed by a country against its
people. Genocide is defined as the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of
an ethnic, racial, caste, religious, or national group. Throughout history, from as early pre-world
war I to the present, countries such as Haiti, the Congo, Germany, and Rwanda have engaged in
these senseless human rights violations for reasons involving race, beliefs, or even political and
economic status. During this paper, I will examine the history of genocide, I will discuss some of
the major events of genocide, I will discuss methods of intervention and prosecution against
those guilty of committing this violation, and finally, I will discuss lessons learned as a result of
this crime. My intention is to raise awareness of this brutal and unspeakable act by examining its
history and discussing what is being done in terms of both, intervention and prevention.
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3 Genocide
Genocide is defined as the “the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part,
of an ethnic, racial, caste, religious, or national group” (www.history.com). The term genocide
originates from the Greek word "Genos" meaning race or tribe and the Latin suffix "Cide"
meaning "to kill."
As a direct result of the Holocaust of World War II, the term genocide became
synonymous with crimes of violence against humanity. Under international law, genocide is
declared a crime whether committed in a time of peace or of war and is widely considered to be
one of the largest violations of human rights. In 1948, the United States of America declared
genocide "an international crime."
Although not widely recognized by the world until the 1940's, genocide far predates the
history we commonly know and are aware of. The Old Testament Scriptures of the Bible are full
of depictions of mass killings of people, apparently some occurrences taking place at God’s
command yet, not many people recall these when the topic of genocide is discussed and debated.
For example, the great flood which killed every living man, women, child, and creature
save for Noah, his family, and several manners of animal and bird (Genesis. 6-8, New
International Version), the destruction of the cities of the plain, including Sodom and Gomorrah
(Genesis. 18-19, New International Version), Pharaohs command to kill all first born sons during
the Passover (Exodus. 11-12, New International Version), the annihilation of the Canaanites
under Moses and Joshua (Numbers. 33, New International Version), and the slaughter of the
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4 Amalekites by Saul (1 Samuel. 15, New International Version) are all examples of genocide that
occurred under the ever watchful eye of the Almighty.
As we continue to try and make sense, of a senseless humanitarian crime, it is essential
we possess and understanding of principal causes in history’s past genocides to promote
awareness and gain global attention to ultimately prevent and end this horrifying humanitarian
tragedy from continuing to occur.
Pre-World War I (1490 to 1914)
Over the course of five centuries, between 1490 and 1914, countless acts of genocide
took place, resulting the deaths of millions of innocent people.
King Leopold II of Belgium, also known as the Butcher of the Congo, was responsible
for the deaths and mutilation of 10 million Congolese Africans (www.digitaljournal.com)
between 1885 and 1908. Main motives for the systematic slaughter of so any Congolese citizens
were financial gain and missionary work. In his twenty-three years of rule, slaughter and torture
came in the form of "cutting off their hands and genitals, flogging them to death, starving them
into forced labor, holding children ransom and burning villages" (www.digitaljournal.com). The
sad and rather disturbing factor regarding this atrocity is King Leopold himself ruled from afar
and ordered these crimes against the people of the Congo without ever setting foot on their native
soil.
The first Haiti genocide I will discuss in this paper, which occurred in February of 1804,
was a massacre that saw the extermination of a large population of French Creole in Haiti. Jean-
Jacques Dessalines, former military leader, and emperor of Haiti, despised the French Creoles
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5 and ordered the massacre which took place all over the entire country of Haiti. In the end, 3,000
to 5,000 deaths of people of all ages and genders occurred. Soldiers went from house to house
killing entire families of whites; which included those who were sincere and friendly to blacks.
One man's hatred of a group of people solely because of their race resulted in one of the most
appalling human rights violation of that century.
The 1937 Native American Genocide, sometimes referred to as the "American Indian
Holocaust" or the "500 Year War" (www.expressostalinist.com) was an event in history that saw
the mass extermination of millions of Pequot Indians. Colonists searching for gold conducted
brutal ambushes on village tribes, creating hostility with the Natives who resided in those areas.
Several wars erupted between Native tribes and American settlers which led to numerous deaths
of Pequot men, women, and children. As a result of this massacre, the Pequot indigenous
population, once numbering approximately ten million, was reduced to roughly three hundred
thousand. As history has recorded, this would not be the only act of genocide committed against
Native American Indians.
Twentieth Century Genocide (from World War I through II)
As the world evolved, witnessing the end of World War I and eventually becoming
engaged with the Second World War, genocide continued to manifest itself well into and
throughout the twentieth century. Of the many acts, history would record throughout this period;
some of the most notorious would be the Armenian Massacre, the Haitian Genocide, and the
Holocaust.
GENOCIDE 6
6 The onset of World War I would see the beginning of the Armenian Massacre, often
referred to as the "Armenian Genocide" (www.history.com). This event, the systematic slaughter
of approximately two million Armenian citizens between 1915 and 1918, is sometimes
referenced as the first act of genocide to occur in the twentieth century. According to "the History
Place", in July 1913 "reform-minded young Turks seized full control of the government via a
coup in 1913. This triumvirate of Young Turks, consisting of Mehmed Talaat, Ismail Enver, and
Ahmed Djemal, came to wield dictatorial powers and concocted their own ambitious plans for
the future of Turkey (www.historyplace.com).
At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the Young Turk regime sided with the "Central
Powers", those being Germany and Austria-Hungary, and ultimately decided for various reasons
the Armenian population was to be annihilated. One by one, Armenian men, women, and
children were executed, and the Turkish countryside became "littered with decomposing
corpses." Allied powers issued stern warnings to Turkey however, it had no effect. The massacre
finally ended with the closing of the war in 1918.
In Haiti, the Parsley Massacre of 1937 saw the extermination of thousands of Haitian
people. This is the second act of genocide conducted against the Haitian populace to be discussed
during this paper. Like the first Haitian massacre discussed, this massacre was never actually
declared an act of genocide because Raphael Lemkin's definition was not formerly adopted until
1948 therefore, the term itself did not yet exist. "Haitians were systematically persecuted due to
their nationality to cleanse the Dominican population of foreigners" (www.ibtimes.com). During
the vicious command of the Dominican dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, not one Haitian
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7 (or Dominican suspected of being Haitian) was safe; even the women and children were as
slaughtered just as brutally as Haitian men.
Probably the most notorious and most commonly known act of genocide occurred during
the Holocaust during which over six million Jews and Non-Jews were killed in Nazi death camps
such as Buchenwald and Auschwitz.
From information previously researched during earlier assignments, I learned that Raphael
Lemkin, a Polish-Jewish lawyer, coined the phrase genocide as a way to describe the horrific
atrocities suffered by Jews and Non-Jews at the hands of Nazi soldiers during the Holocaust in
World War II. Lempkin hoped that this term would help bring realization of such horrific acts of
violence taking place in Nazi Germany and around the world and that it would also foster
prevention and punishment of such horrendous crimes against people of innocence
(www.icrc.org). It just so happened that through his efforts, the Holocaust and the term genocide
became synonymous.
According to research, the twin goals of racial purity and spatial expansion were the core
of Hitler’s worldview, and this would be the driving catalyst leading to the extermination of a
human race solely because they did not fit into Adolph Hitler's master plan of a "master race"
(www.history.com). The wounds of the Holocaust, known in Hebrew as Shoah or catastrophe,
left a horrid mark on the fabric of German society and the world.
Genocide (1965 to Present)
From the 1960's to present day, genocide continued, and still continues, to be a global
issue to be reckoned with. Between the fall of 1965 and summer of 1966, the military
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8 establishments of Generals Nasution and Suharto seized power in Indonesia and combined its
strength. During a period lasting approximately seven months, close to one million people were
killed. This genocide, often referred to as the Indonesian killings, began as members of the
Communist 30 September Movement staged a failed coup against the Indonesian government.
The Indonesian Army's response was swift as they immediately engaged in an anti-
Communist purge that swept across the island archipelago; initial reports estimate at least
500,000 people are estimated to have been killed however, others place the number closer to the
one million mark previously mentioned (www.takepart.com).
In April 1994, Hutus began slaughtering the Tutsis in the African country of Rwanda
(www.history1900.com). On April 6, 1994, President Juvénal Habyarimana of Rwanda was
returning from a trip to Tanzania when his plane was shot down over Rwanda's capital city of
Kigali. All on board were killed in the crash. This served as a catalyst, and the massacre started
as Hutu extremist began a retaliation campaign that would lead to the massacre of over 800,000
Hutu and Tutsi moderates. According to research, most Tutsis were killed by hand weapons,
often machetes or clubs.
Many were often tortured before being killed. Some of the victims were given the option
of paying for a bullet so that they'd have a quicker death (www.history.com).
It was one of the worst cases of genocide recorded in history and the world stood by and did
nothing as the death toll rose to unthinkable numbers.
In Western Sudan in 2003, the Darfur Genocide saw the mass slaughter and rape of
Darfuri men, women, and children. This event is widely considered to be the first genocide to
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9 occur in the 21st century and according to research, the killings continue to this day. Civil war
was the primary reason for the senseless and barbaric killings as rebel groups known as the
Janjaweed (translated to ‘devils on horseback’) systematically destroy Darfurians by burning
villages, looting economic resources, polluting water sources, and murdering, raping, and
torturing civilians. In the aftermath, as many as thirty-thousand Darfuri citizens have been
slaughtered, and the numbers continue to rise.
There have been many other incidents of genocide, most recently the Boko Haram
planned genocide in 2014 which 31 Christians were killed while during worship services. It
would appear that history has taught us that in the name of whatever the just cause, militant and
extremist groups around the worlds will not hesitate to engage in mass killings to further their
belief, causes, or perceived rights. I think this thought or theory is best summed up in a poem I
randomly came across during my research for this project. This poem, by German poet,
playwright, and director, Bertolt Brecht, exclaims the following:
“The first time it was reported that our friends were being butchered there was a cry of
horror. Then a hundred were butchered. But when a thousand were butchered, and there was no
end to the butchery, a blanket of silence spread. When evil-doing comes like falling rain, nobody
calls out "stop!" His translation was simply, "when crimes begin to pile up they become
invisible. When sufferings become unendurable, the cries are no longer heard. The cries, too, fall
like rain in summer.” (http://www.goodreads.com)
Under International law, the term genocide is considered a crime regardless of when it
happens to mean, the crime of genocide is punishable whether committed during peace or war.
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10 Further research has determined that genocide is widely regarded as a human rights violation and
is covered under international humanitarian law.
The International Criminal Court has mandated "As a permanent tribunal, it prosecutes
individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression. The
individual perpetrator will be punished whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers,
public officials, or private individuals will be held accountable" (www.payvand.com). Genocide
is a crime and those who commit this heinous act will be punished to the fullest extent of
international law.
Throughout this paper, I have discussed the topic of genocide, provided a definition for
understanding, highlighted various acts of genocide committed over the years and, brought
awareness regarding the lessons learned as well as actions taken by international groups
regarding intervention and prevention. I would like to close this assignment with a quote
provided by Mr. Goran Persson, Prime Minister of Sweden, while addressing a session at the
Stockholm International Forum on Preventing Genocide in January 2004.
"I wanted us to be "unreasonable" during this Stockholm International Forum:
Preventing Genocide, in the spirit of Raphael Lemkin. And we have been "unreasonable" long
beyond my expectations. Let us continue to be "unreasonable" in the difficult, continuous task to
prevent genocide. Thank you" (www.iccnow.org).
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References
History.com Staff. (2009). What Is Genocide? Retrieved from
http://www.history.com/topics/what-is-genocide
Preventing Genocide - United to End Genocide. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://endgenocide.org/learn/preventing-future-genocides/
The History Place - Genocide in the 20th Century. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/index.html
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What is Genocide? (2016). Retrieved May 12, 2016, from
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007043
The Butcher of Congo: King Leopold II of Belgium. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2016, from
http://www.digitaljournal.com/blog/11297
Parsley Massacre: The Genocide That Still Haunts Haiti-Dominican Relations. (2012). Retrieved
May 12, 2016, from http://www.ibtimes.com/parsley-massacre-genocide-still-haunts- haiti-dominican-relations-846773
Quotes about Genocide. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2016, from
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/genocide
My Site. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2016, from http://thehaitimassacreof1804.weebly.com/
Native American Genocide. (2011). Retrieved May 12, 2016, from
https://espressostalinist.com/genocide/native-american-genocide/
Unlike the Nazis or the Hutu, This Country's Leaders Got Away With Genocide. (n.d.).
Retrieved May 12, 2016, from http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/02/17/indonesia- killing
http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/darfur-genocide
Genocide in the Darfur Region of Sudan. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2016, from
https://www.hmh.org/la_Genocide_Darfur.shtml