Genocides Past and Present Essay - 1298 Words

Genocides Past and Present Genocide, a dire event, has been recurring time and time again throughout history. In the past, there was the Holocaust, where Hitler exterminated over six million Jews based on his anti-semitic views. Elie Wiesel, a Jewish author, has become a very influential man in educating the world of the true events of the Holocaust due to his involvement in the disaster. Presently, a genocide is occurring in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, in which according to Cheryl Goldmark, â€Å"a systematic slaughter of non-Arab residents at the the hands of Arab militiamen called Janjaweed† has been taking place since 2003. (1) Not only is genocide a tragic historical event, it also continuously occurs today. Genocide in†¦show more content†¦Adolf Hitler, and his Nazi Party that followed him, began persecuting Jews in 1933. Adolf Hitler, the mastermind behind the Holocaust, was an anti-semitic man who believed in a superior Arian German race. Hitlers r ise to power was just the beginning of a series of events that almost led to the complete annihilation of many countries Jewish population. First, laws that limited the Jews rights were applied. Next, their valuables were taken from their possession, and then the innocent people were forced into cramped ghettos lined with barbwire. According to Sally Marks, â€Å"the term holocaust is derived from the Greek language and literally means a sacrifice totally consumed by fire.† (1) Living up to its definition, during the Holocaust many Jews were burned in the fiery mouths of the crematoriums. The impact of the segregational laws as well as being forced into ghettos were only the beginning of the inhumane crimes the Jews were subjected to during the Holocaust. Concentration camps were horrible places filled with starvation, dangerous work, and death. After being taken out of the ghettos Jews were most often carted like caged animals to the camps. There, if not immediately sentenc ed to death during selection, the people were stripped of their identity and thrown into a situation no human deserves to be in. Many Jews either lost their faith or used it as a tool for survival. Many asked themselves, is there a god, or is this a test of faith? (Sheldon 1) GivenShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of The Guatemalan Genocide Of A Minority Group1449 Words   |  6 Pagesthe effects of the Guatemalan genocide of a minority group called the mayans that resulted in the death and displacement of thousands, and how mining companies took advantage of this violence. I will also analyze civil wars in general and how even without war there is no peace in Guatemala. The extracurricular activity I attended for this report on peace studies was Dr. Catherine Nolin’s public lecture called â€Å"Transnational Ruptures in a Time of Impunity: Genocide, Mining and Migration†. Dr. NolinRead MoreThe Measure Of The Impact Of The Genocide1458 Words   |  6 PagesThe measure of the impact of the genocide is an often-touched upon subject in both books. Again, Fujii’s perspective tends to measure the impact of the genocide on individuals (though the national and international impact is mentioned), whereas Destexhe’s writing focuses on the macro-level impacts on both the country of Rwanda, as well as the international community. This is one aspect where I believe that Fujii’s method of analysis falls short when compared to Destexhe. While Fujii’s interviewsRead MoreForgiveness in Post-Genocide Rwanda742 Words   |  3 Pagesforgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.† After the genocide, which took th e lives of countless loved ones, Rwandans re-found their faith in order to forgive their wrongdoers. Moreover, many of the Rwandan’s needed to forgive each other for their crimes in order to deal with the pain of losing their family members. Rwanda is a small country where the individuals depend upon each other for the basic needs in life. Once the genocide had ended, the government needed its citizens to cooperateRead MoreLaw, Culture And Language Lyrics Of Hate1162 Words   |  5 Pagessocieties that produce new languages and cultures of remembrance in â€Å"The Ground of the Image† (Fordam University Press: annotated edition 2005), â€Å"the image of [genocide] is sacred.†(1) To appeal to officially sanctioned history, an anthropologist perspective of the law is a central element in examining how language has been enlisted throughout the past of any civilization. The work of an anthropologist is to examine how the law has interpreted numerous cultural, historical and political events of varyingRead MoreThe Horrors of Genocide: Night, by Elie Wiesel1699 Words   |  7 Pagesthis social utopia. Throughout history, many occurrences of genocide have occurred due to the diversity of people and even though society has evolved greatly, there are still people and places today that are suffering. To start off with, what is genocide? Genocide is the killing of a massive number of people of in a group. Genocide has not only been practices in the present day, but it has been practiced for millennia (Horvitz 1). Genocide occurs because people are different, in race, religion, andRead MoreThe Genocide And The Holocaust1198 Words   |  5 PagesThere have been several genocides in the past century. The Cambodian Genocide and the Holocaust are two of the great tragedies of the twentieth century. The Holocaust occurred in Germany and Eastern Europe. The Cambodian genocide took place in Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge was an overwhelming communist force that took Phnom Penh by surprise. In Cambodia, â€Å"21% of the population was killed. That is about 1.7 million people that lost their lives† (â€Å"Past Genocides†). There was little commotion or outcryRead MoreThe Victims Of History By George Orwell1234 Words   |  5 PagesThe Victims of History the importance in critical history studies In his critically acclaimed novel, 1984, George Orwell wrote the following; â€Å"Who controls the past controls the future. And who controls the present controls the past.† When discussing the validity of studying history critically, I think this quote accurately highlights many of the key points that are discussed when it comes to studying history. Critical history analysis prompts us to consider more than just the information we areRead MoreGhosts of Rwanda Essay1374 Words   |  6 PagesRwanda Reflection Does the Genocide in Rwanda have a singular cause? I do not believe so; the cause of genocide in Rwanda in 1994 was due to years of built up hatred between the Tutsis and the Hutus along with many other occurrences. The Rwandan Genocide is no exception with many variables contributing to the horrific events that took place. According to the documentary Ghosts of Rwanda, in 1994, Rwanda experienced a premeditated, systematic and state sponsored genocide with the aim of exterminatingRead MoreUNs Failures in Preventing Rwandan Genocide811 Words   |  3 PagesAccording to Aldelman (2005), the Rwanda 1994 genocide was the most disastrous case of mass murder the entire world has ever witnessed since WWII. The genocide resulted from the deliberate choice of a modern elite to foster hatred and fear to keep itself in power. According to Shah, (2006), this was a case of the majority Hutu who comprised 85% of the population turning against the Tutsi minority who made up 12% of the populati on in order to counter a growing political opposition within Rwanda. TheRead MoreThe Rwandan Genocide Essay959 Words   |  4 PagesThe problems of today can often be traced in the beginnings of yesterday. The Rwandan Genocide was a divisive division of two groups that culminated in the mass murder of nearly 500,000 Rwandans, three-fourths of the population. The tactful subterfuge by the ruling party fueled the separation of two ethnic groups that reminisce the events in Europe 55 years earlier. Naturally, the question becomes, how? Simply speaking it was the indifference of global elites and political demagoguery that incited