Genocides are the methodical killing of a group of people based on their race, ethnicity, religion, or some other factor that separates one group of people from another. Throughout history there have been many genocides against different groups of people. Examples of genocides includes the Holocaust, the Armenian genocide, the Kurdish genocide, and the Bosnian genocide. All these were violent campaigns against entire races.

The Holocaust was a mass extermination of Jewish people during World War II. A total of 6 million Jewish people were killed, and 11 million in total. Many people were put into harsh concentration camps, where conditions were not fit for human living.

The mastermind behind The Holocaust was Adolf Hitler, the Führer. He and his Nazi party controlled Germany during the duration of the Holocaust. With their invasion of Poland, Nazi Germany began WWII. The Allied Forces rallied against this new empire. The Nazi regime extended throughout Europe and their advance brought one of the worst crimes against humanity the world has seen.

The Rape of Nanking The Rape of Nanking was a brutal attack by the Japanese army towards the Chinese citizens of Nanking. Approximately 20,000 – 80,0000 women were raped by soldiers during the massacre. It is believed that somewhere around 260,000 casualties occurred during the six week long period.

 The Rwandan Genocide started in  The genocide was initiated by one of Rwanda’s main ethnic groups, the Hutus, against the Tutsis.  Things were made worse when the two Presidents of both ethnic groups were killed when their plane was shot down in April,  It is estimated that over 500,000-1,000,000 people were killed in the genocide.

The Apartheid in South Africa was a political campaign from 1948 to 1994 in support of total racial segregation throughout the country. The White minority took complete control of the nation, oppressing the Black natives and using violent tactics against Blacks. The use of poison, vicious attack dogs, and biological weapons were widespread against the Blacks of South Africa. Political leaders such as Nelson Mandela had many assassination attempts put against them.

“Do you think that racism has lessened in the time you’ve been in the United States?” “Yes, since I came to this country in 1988 I’ve seen that racism isn’t as frequent. I still see it sometimes even today, but not nearly as much. I think that in the future there will be even less racism than today.” “What are some of the signs you’ve seen today that make you believe this?” “ People today seem to care less about the color of your skin or where you come from. The election of President Barack Obama is one thing that shows how the United States is getting better when it comes stopping racism.”