A brief history of

1904 Herreros of South Africa – approximately 65,000 killed by the German government 1915 – 1922 Armenian Genocide – 1,500,000 killed by the Ottoman Empire 1918 – 1921 Ukrainian Jews – 100,00 – 250,000 killed by pogroms from the Ukrainian government 1932 – 1933 Ukrainian Famine – 38,000,000 Ukrainians killed by a famine created by Stalin – 1939 Soviet Political Dissenters – 400,000 – 500,000 killed by the Soviet government 1939 – 1945 Holocaust – 6,000,000 Jewish people and 6,000,000 members of other groups killed by the German government 1950 – 1959 Tibetan Buddhists – unknown number, killed by the Chinese government 1965 – 1966 Indonesian Genocide – 600,000 political opponents killed by the Indonesian government – 1972 Hutus of Burundi – 100,000 – 300,000 killed by Tutsi soldiers 1965 – present unknown number of Guatemalan Indians killed by Guatemalan soldiers Unknown timeframe and amount of people killed in North Nigeria by soldiers Bengalis in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) – 1,000,000 – 3,000,000 killed by the Pakistani government 1972 Ache Indians of Paraguay – unknown amount killed by the Paraguayan government 1975 – 1979 Cambodians – 1,700,000 – 1,900,000 killed by the Khmer Rouge government 1975 – 2000 citizens of East Timor – 100,000 killed by Indonesian troops 1980 – present members of Bahai (religious group) killed in unknown numbers by Iranian government 1991 – 2003 Iraqi Kurds – amount killed unknown by the government of Iraq 1992 – 1998 Muslims of Bosnia – 200,000 killed by Croatians and Serbians 1994 Rwandan Tutsis – 800,000 killed by Rwandan Hutus 1995 – present Tamil people – unknown amounts killed by the Sri Lankan government 1998 Albanian people – amount unknown by the Serbians 2003 – present Sudanese genocide – amount unknown native citizens being killed by Janjaweed (Muslim forces) and allowed by government

Genocide in the 20 th Century During the 20 th century government or political violence killed more than 170 million civilians – 40 million of those killed were as a result of a genocide. Most genocides are committed by governments (or with approval of them). Genocides occurred earlier than the 20 th century and continue to occur today.

Definition of Genocide Genocide is defined as acts committed with the intent to destroy in whole, or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. (This definition was created by the United Nations in 1948) Acts committed that qualify as genocide include – killing, causing serious bodily and mental harm, inflicting conditions designed to bring about destruction, preventing births within a group, or removing children from a group.

International Community The International Community is a general term used to describe the interaction of states and how they cooperate to resolve issues.

WWI & the International Community  During World War I the Armenian Genocide occurred.  World War I also changed the way many people viewed the world, including the US President Woodrow Wilson.

Creation of the League of Nations President Wilson pushed for the League of Nations to be created to prevent events such as World War I or the Armenian Genocide from happening again. He believed a strong International Community could stop wars and genocides.

Failure of the League of Nations  Many nations felt that Britain and France had too much power and their views wouldn’t be heard, so they didn’t participate.  Countries such as Germany and the Soviet Union were not allowed to join until later.  In order for a motion to pass all League members had to agree to it – this was rare.  The League had no way to enforce their policies.  The International Community was not invested.

WWII & the International Community  World War II stunned the International Community with atrocities worse than the previous war.  This led to the creation of the United Nations and a vow to prosecute those who committed mass murder.

Nuremberg Trials  24 Nazi officers were put on trial for war crimes, 12 were sentenced to death.  The Nuremberg Trials were the first of their kind and established new protocols for prosecuting genocides.

Principles of the Nuremberg Tribunal (1950) Principle 1 – Any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefore liable to punishment. Principle 2 – The fact that internal (state) law does not impose a penalty for an act which constitutes a crime under international law does not relieve the person who committed the act from responsibility under international law.

Principles of the Nuremberg Tribunal (1950) Principle 3 – The fact that a person who committed an act which constitutes a crime under international law acted as Head of State or responsible government officials does not relieve him (or her) from responsibility under international law. Principle 4 – The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his (or her) government or of a superior does not relieve him (or her) from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible for him (or her).

Impact of Nuremberg Principles & Genocide Convention  The Nuremberg Principles and Genocide Convention (passed by the UN) made it clear that states could no longer expect to be free from outside interference if they were committing a genocide.  Some states (such as the US) took issue with this because they felt the rules were unclear and it took away our rights as a country. It was eventually passed and agreed to in the US in 1986.

International Community Involvement  The US and the International Community has become involved to help with some genocides since instituting the Nuremberg Principles and Genocide Convention (Kurds of Iraq & Kosovo).  The US and the International Community/United Nations has often been criticized for not becoming involved in genocides and human rights issues where there isn’t political, financial, or military gain.

How will this unit work? 1. Select three of the five genocides that you would like to research and complete the Genocide Information Sheet for each one. 2. Once you’ve completed your research select from the list of options to earn the maximum amount of points (50). 3. The whole class will then participate in a genocide prevention simulation.