The Holocaust and the Cambodian Genocide

“Hatred can be nurtured anywhere” - Simon Wiesenthal in Justice Not Vengeance (Uschan 94)

Michael V. Uschan defines genocide as “the deliberate, systematical destruction of a racial, political or cultural group.” The Greek word geno means “race” or “tribe”, and cide is Latin for “killing”. The word itself was specifically created to describe the execution going on during the Holocaust (Uschan 9). The Holocaust refers to a time period from January 1933 to May 1945 in Germany. A clear-cut combination of shrewdness, intolerance and brutality was the cause of the death of 11 million men, women, and children. Led by Adolf Hitler, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or the Nazi Party, convicted Jews, Gypsies, Poles and other groups because they thought they we “inferior to Germans” (Uschan 8). Political and personal beliefs and their way of life were rejected. Most of them were sent to camps that were specialized to murder thousands of victims every single day (Uschan 8). Many years later, in 1975, a relentless extremist program was established in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge guerilla movement, led by Pol Pot. He was very enthusiastic about a certain communist model and decided that “all un-communist aspects of traditional Cambodian society” must be terminated (“Cambodia”). Intellectuals and educated people were most likely to oppose this; Pot intended to eliminate them along with anyone else who defied him and his program (“Cambodia”). The Holocaust and the Cambodian genocide differ in their goals, but are very similar when it comes to the causes and methods of extermination.

All genocides are crimes against humanity; they end in a mass annihilation of so many lives. However, the agenda of one leader differs from another. Ad...

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...y don’t speak out against it. People have to choose to protect the rights of those being tormented in order to prevent future genocides.

Works Cited

“Cambodia 1975.” Peace Pledge Union Information: Genocide. Peace Pledge Union, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

“Cambodian Genocide” World Without Genocide. William Mitchel College of Law, 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

Holocaust Explained, The. London Jewish Cultural Center, 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

“Introduction to the Holocaust.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 10 June. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

Uschan, Michael V. The Holocaust. Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale, 2005. Print.