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. .
The Rwandan genocide may have had more people killed in a minute, but the conditions weren’t as nearly as bad as the Holocaust. In Rwanda, if the Hutsus saw a tutsis walking down the street you would be killed immediately. For this genocide, the Hutsus didn’t hold the Tutsis in a camp, make them sleep in horrid conditions, burn them alive, make them work or even put them in gas chambers leading to death. However, the Holocaust was different, if you were a jew you would be treated this way. Hitler would take the Jews into a concentration camp to be worked, starved, and tortured till you become weak and ill proceeding to death.
...everal times since the Holocaust, and the previous three are a few of the worst. These tragedies that occur throughout history are caused purely by fellow human beings, and it is up to human beings to stop them. As Jack Schwartz says, “Genocide is an attempt to exterminate a people, not alter their behavior.” It is the responsibility of not one, but all. The world needs to make these crimes against civilization come to a halt, once and for all.
(Countries at Risk). The genocide in Rwanda began when the tension between the Hutus tribe and the Tutsis tribe steadily increased. After the European country, Belgium, colonized Rwanda, they gave more power to
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.
By definition, genocide is the mass extermination of a whole group of people, or an attempt to destroy an entire group of people, either in whole or in part. Whether it’s based on race, ethnicity, culture, or religion, the systematic destruction of a certain group of people constitutes as genocide. Forced transfer of the children of a group to another in an attempt to destroy a certain group also counts as genocide. Genocide covers a broad spectrum of points, and it’s surprising that so many of these points actually occur in our civilized society, but it does occur.
Many innocent lives were taken during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Philip Gourevitch’s “We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families,” explains why the genocide that occurred in Rwanda should not be written off in history as just another tribal disagreement. This book entails the stories of Gourevitch and the people he interviewed when he went to Rwanda. These stories express what people went through during the genocide, the loss they saw, the mass killings they tried to hide from, and the history of what led to the Rwandan genocide. Rwanda’s colonial past did influence the development of the genocide in Rwanda. The hatred between the Hutus and the Tutsis had been going on for many years before the genocide.
Throughout history there were many acts of genocide. The most commonly known example is the Holocaust. In this act of genocide six million Jews and five million Slavs, Roma, disabled, Jehovah’s witnesses, homosexuals, and political and religious dissidents were killed . The tragedy, led by Adolf Hitler, was considered a serious war crime by the newly formed United Nations. After the holocaust the United...
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.
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.
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...
The Rwandan genocide was one of the most monstrous crimes against humanity. Driven by political issues, hunger for power and ethnic differences. The genocide is now over but remnants remain, showing the pain and suffering that
The United States needs to look more into the perspectives of other genocides in the past. The past genocides will make people understand why genocides needs put to an end and never happens again. There were many events that made people understand to stop genocides and to prevent them. America can look back on the the Holocaust, end Japanese Aggression in 1937, and how the U.S. should treat genocides in the future more better. The United States should be responsible for stopping future genocide
Genocide in Germany, beginning in 1938, caused a historic recognition for people today. The leader, Adolf Hitler, had many ideas on how to eliminate the jews promptly or fatally. Hitler and his terror spread all throughout Europe leaving a devastating trail of destruction in his wake. Hitler and his team of Nazi used propoganda and mass murder to increase their support and as a way to eliminate the unwanted people of Germany.
The term "Holocaust," originally from the Greek word "holokauston" which means "sacrifice by fire," refers to the Nazi's persecution and planned slaughter of the Jewish people. Beginning on April 6, 1994, Hutus began slaughtering the Tutsis in the African country of Rwanda. Genocide is the systematic destruction of all or part of a racial, ethnic, religious or national group. There have been many different other examples of genocide in history. Although there are many common characteristics and themes that occur with all genocides, the Holocaust and Rwanda were different due to aggressors, reasons, and outcomes.
Personally, when I first heard the term genocide, the first picture that came up to my mind was the picture of the German dictator Hitler. Hitler hated Jews and saw them as the reason behind every disaster in the world. In his biography on Hitler, Schramm wrote that there is a theory explaining the reasons behind Hitler’s hatred towards Jews, he said t...