By definition, genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda's Tutsis and Hutu political moderates by the Hutu dominated government under the Hutu Power ideals. Hutus believed the Tutsi were taking their jobs, and that they were foreigners who had worn out their welcome (Genocide-Rwanda). In comparison to Germany, the largest genocide in history, also known as the Holocaust, six million people were brutally murdered. This was because of religious and political opposition to the Nazi Regime, lead by Adolf Hitler from 1939 until late 1945 (Genocide-Holocaust). Hitler believed in a “pure Aryan race” consisting of blonde haired, blue-eyed Germans. Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, and any other minorities were targeted, tortured, and treated inhumanely. Clearly, the Holocaust and Rwandan Genocide share many similarities but have just as many differences.
Although the Rwandan Genocide and Holocaust were geographically different and in completely different time periods, they have more similarities than one would assume. If one were to trace these genocides all the way back to their roots, one may notice they both were in similar economic situations, which one could argue were “perfect breeding grounds for a genocide” (Fisanick). Economic problems arose in Rwanda in 1989 when coffee prices fell by 50%. Hundreds of thousands of homes lost half of their cash income (Genocide-Rwanda). The poverty gap was an issue when the Hutus started feeling like it was unfair that the Tutsis were making more money than them- and on their land. In regard to the Germany economy, the Treaty of Versailles took ...
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...ones throughout history, like the Rwandan Genocide and Holocaust. There are many gruesome periods of time throughout history, but the easiest way to prevent them from occurring again is to use them as learning experiences and evolve to better ones self and the world they live in.
Works Cited
• Fisanick, Christina, Bruce Glassman, Bonnie Szumski, and Scott Barbour. "Background to the Genocide." The Rwanda Genocide. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Print.
• "Genocide-Holocaust." Genocide-Holocaust. Peace Pledge Union, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. .
• Genocide- Rwanda." Genocide-Rwanda. Peace Pledge Union, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. .
• “Rwandan Genocide, The." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. .
Lawyer: the word genocide, is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular nation or ethnic group.
Though the event occurred almost twenty-one years ago, the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has prompted much discussion about what truly caused the deaths of an estimated 800,000 civilians. Scott Straus, a political scientist and author of The Order of Genocide: Race, Power, and War in Rwanda, makes the claim that it is very difficult to precisely identify what began the genocide in Rwanda for a number of reasons, and also comments that many of the beliefs in regards to the causes and evolution of genocide in Rwanda are incomplete. In his book, Straus focuses on three main aspects: to look closely at the local dynamics of the genocide, to produce an assessment of explanations, and finally to develop a theory that would explain the genocide in Rwanda.
Genocide is the deliberate killing of people who belong to a particular racial, political, or cultural group (Merriam-Webster). This is what Hitler did to the six million Jews during the Holocaust, which led to many Jews fighting back. This paper will talk about how the Holocaust victims fought back against Hitler and his army. The Holocaust was a mass killing of Jews and non-Jews who were viewed as unneeded within the world by Adolf Hitler. Hitler became leader of Germany and tortured and killed many people. With Nazi Germany killing and torturing millions of Jews and non-Jews, victims decided to fight back with armed and spiritual resistance.
Genocide: The deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular group or nationality. When people think of this forbidding word, their mind immediately flashes to images of concentration camps and Adolf Hitler’s army raising their arms, saluting to swastikas used during the Holocaust in WWII. But what people don’t realize is that genocide is not such a rarity. Thousands, even millions of civilians die each time genocide strikes. Genocides have been committed since the beginning of humanity, but three massacres since Hitler’s reign left the world shocked again at its own cruelty.
The genocides of the 20th century which occurred in Rwanda and Germany had striking similarities, something that should have alerted the world to stop them. At the core of these two massacres, patterns existed that outlined how similar thinking and reasoning could lead to something as horrible as these two events. One can see how both groups used their command of knowledge as a way to control the people, how the rest of the world refused to step up to stop the killings, and how the people were thought of as less than humans to provide a just cause for such terrible acts.
The Rwandan Genocide was a terrible event in history caused by a constantly weakening relationship between two groups of people. The country of Rwanda is located in Africa and consists of multiple groups of people. Majority of Rwanda is Hutu, while a smaller amount of people are Tutsis. The genocide started due to multiple events that really stretched the relationship between the two groups to its end. One of the starting factors was at the end of World War 1. Rwanda was a German colony but then was given to Belgium “who favored the minority Tutsis over the Hutus, exacerbated[exacerbating] the tendency of the few to oppress the many”(History.com). This created a feeling of anger towards the Tutsis, because they had much more power then Hutus.
Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.
Genocide is the “deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.” (Dictionary.com, 2010) In 1924, after World War I, Belgian colonists entered Rwanda and allowed the Tutsi dynasty to remain in power. However, after World War II concepts of right and wrong changed. Since the Belgians had been favouring the Tutsis, this change in ethics caused the Belgians to have compassion on the Hutus and promote the Hutu cause, creating tension. (Thompson, 2007) It was the Belgians who cre...
“Beginning on April 6, 1994, Hutus began slaughtering the Tutsis in the African country of Rwanda. As the brutal killings continued, the world stood idly by and just watched the slaughter. Lasting 100 days, the Rwanda genocide left approximately 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu sympathizers dead” (Rosenberg 1). When Rwanda’s President, Habyrimana, was killed in a plane crash, turmoil and massacres began. A series of events escalated violence until two ethic groups were engaged in bloody battle: The Hutus and the Tutsis. Throughout the Rwandan Genocide, the Tutsis were targeted because the death of President Habyrimana and problems in social and economic life was blamed in them, thus resulting in the 100-day genocide.
What is genocide? “Genocide is a deliberate, systematic destruction of racial cultural or political groups.”(Feldman 29) What is the Holocaust? “Holocaust, the period between 1933-1945 when Nazi Germany systematically persecuted and murdered millions of Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and many other people.”(Feldman 29) These two things tie into each other.The Holocaust was a genocide. Many innocent people were torn apart from their families, for many never to see them again. This murder of the “Jewish people of Europe began in spring 1941.”( Feldman 213) The Holocaust was one of the most harshest things done to mankind.
In the case of genocides, there are many factors that motivate the perpetrators to kill. In the Rwandan genocide there are many reasons why the Hutus would be motivated to kill the Tutsis. There were reasons, of long standing hatred toward Tutsis, fear of authority and repercussion, economic and many other motivating factors. In the book, Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak, Jean Hatzfeld explores these many reasons for genocide through interviews with killers. Even though were many motivating factors for the Rwandan genocide, the main motivation for the perpetrators were for economic reasons.
The Rwandan genocide occurred due to the extreme divide between two main groups that were prevalent in Rwanda, the Hutu and the Tutsi. When Rwanda was first settled, the term Tutsi was used to describe those people who owned the most livestock. After the Germans lost control over their colonies after World War I, the Belgians took over and the terms Hutu and Tutsi took on a racial role (Desforges). It soon became mandatory to have an identification card that specified whether or not an individual was a Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa (a minority group in Rwanda). The Tutsi soon gained power through the grant of leadership positions by the Belgians. Later on when Rwanda was tying to gain indepe...
When the Rwandan Hutu majority betrayed the Tutsi minority, a destructive mass murdering broke out where neighbor turned on neighbor and teachers killed their students; this was the start of a genocide. In this paper I will tell you about the horrors the people of Rwanda had to face while genocide destroyed their homes, and I will also tell you about the mental trauma they still face today.
Baldauf, S. (2009). Why the US didn't intervene in the Rwandan genocide. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2009/0407/p06s14-woaf.html [Accessed: 21 Feb 2014].
Middleton, John. "Rwanda." Africa: an Encyclopedia for Students. Vol. 3. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. Print.