In all of human history there have been countless tragedies in which men and women have faced atrocities against them and their communities. One of the most debilitating acts of hatred is that of genocide. Genocide is the deliberate extermination of a particular group of people based on severe prejudice. Cultural genocide also exists as a way to exterminate a specific culture, leaving survivors broken and displaced. Incredibly, survivors of genocide who have had every reason to give up on life, against all odds, instead manage to persevere. Why when everything is taken away and even whilst being tortured and humiliated, do some individuals maintain the remarkable ability to bounce back? Why do individuals display an even greater sense of humanity …show more content…
Scientists in the field of psychology are trying to reason why forms of psychosocial treatment do not always work on patients who have experienced trauma and instead focus mainly on genetics and biological reasoning to explain resilience. “Other groups [of scientists] are investigating how the body and brain change during the recovery process and why psychological interventions do not always work” (Hughes 1). One example that proves a genetic link to resilience is explained by Primo’s evaluation of a man named Elias, who seemed particularly well-suited to life in Auschwitz. “Are there not all around us some Eliases, more or less in embryo? Do we not see individuals living without purpose, lacking all forms of self-control and conscience, who live not in spite of these defects, but like Elias precisely because of them?” (Levi 98). According to Levi, Elias was born with the distinct ability to survive and even thrive in environments that most people would find highly difficult, if not impossible, to live in. Therefore, Primo Levi acknowledged the fact that there are innate biological factors including certain personality traits and DNA that affect one’s ability to be
Human rights violations, unfortunately, have been common in all parts of the world for thousands of years. Not all abuses lead to world attention or mass causalities, but large-scale tragedies that do gain notice often involve the use of propaganda. Propaganda has often been used to promote an individual leader, political party or government’s agenda, which will often tyrannize specific groups. The definition of propaganda according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary and for this paper is, “the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.” One of the major questions many have when investigating the causes of genocide and why average citizens often accept and at time tolerate mass violence and permit their friends and neighbors rights to be taken away. To understand this issue we must look to past examples of propaganda that demoralized and demonized entire communities that eventually lead to genocide. During the Nazi rule in Germany and the genocide in Rwanda in the mid-1990s there have been clear cases where misinformation has been used in order promote violence and repress the rights of citizens. More often than not, similar manipulation and deception techniques have been used during these periods to oppress the basic rights of groups and individuals. Germany and Rwanda both exercised comparable methods such as emotional manipulation, media and demonization of minority/weaker groups in order to harm/eliminate large sectors of the population. Overall, propaganda is often a tool used to commit massive manipulation and rationalization for large-scale human rights violations.
A total of 11 million people died during the Holocaust. The Holocaust was started by the Nazi’s in the 1930’s. It was were about six million Jews were killed. Misinformed individuals theorize that the Holocaust is not a form of genocide but they are misguided. The Holocaust should be considered an example of genocide based on the UN’s definition, the stages of genocide and the specific evidence provided in the memoir Night.
The word genocide was derived from the Greek root genos (people) and the Latin root cide (killing), and did not exist in the English language until 1944, which was the end of World War II (Power). According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, genocide is “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.” Such violence occurred during the Holocaust and during the separation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The problems of ethnic cleansing and repression have become so prevalent in the last century that they have contributed to two world wars, over fourteen million deaths, and a new word. United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, said, “Far from being consigned to history, genocide and its ilk remain a serious threat. Not just vigilance but a willingness to act are as important today as ever.”
Problems have and will continue to exsist all over the world. Throughout history, global problems have posed major challenges for nations and regions. There are many causes to the global problems expirenced in the world just as there are many effects. Both genocide and environmental pollution have posed major challenges for nations and regions of the world.
“Cultural Genocide is the intentional destruction of the culture of another people, not necessarily including the destruction of actual lives” Canada’s first encounter with the Native Canadians was a dark and brutal period. The Native Canadians, also referred to as Indians, were stripped of their cultures and called to be ashamed for their traditional ways. Indian Residential Schools were a method used by the Canadian government to destruct the ethnicity of the Native Canadians. The crimes committed by Canada are clearly represented by the Residential Schools and the special rights that they have gained today; one can not say the aboriginals have not been a victim to Cultural Genocide, if the accusations of cultural genocide are false, why were they given special rights?
The crime of genocide is one of the most devastating human tragedies throughout the history. And the word genocide refers to an organised destruction to a specific group of people who belongs to the same culture, ethnic, racial, religious, or national group often in a war situation. Similar to mass killing, where anyone who is related to the particular group regardless their age, gender and ethnic background becomes the killing targets, genocide involves in more depth towards destroying people’s identity and it usually consists a fine thorough plan prearranged in order to demolish the unwanted group due to political reasons mostly. While the term genocide had only been created recently in 1943 by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-Jewish legal scholar, from the ancient Greek word “genos” meaning race and the Latin word “cide” meaning killing , there are many examples of genocide like events that occurred before the twentieth century. And this new term brings up the question as whether genocide is a contemporary description defined through current perspectives towards the crime act or is it just a part of the inevitable human evolutionary progress caused by modernity.
Extremely hostile environments forced people to make fast decisions that could have been right or wrong. In some, their conscious came through, but in others their bodies needs were greater than their minds. Everyone is different and everyone deals with devastation in their own way. Although many people made decisions during the Holocaust and in present day that they may regret or be proud of now, they should never have been put through this experience just because of their religion or any other beliefs they may
Could a genocide mimicking Hitler’s rein of terror be right around the corner for society? Timothy Snyder, author of The New York Times op-ed “The Next Genocide,” insists that China or Russia could be the mastermind behind a future genocide. Snyder explains how Hitler’s idea Lebensraum, a core belief behind Nazi ideology, is encouraging the government of China to follow his footsteps. Lebensraum is when a country believes that the only way to expand trade or sustaining a large population is to take over other countries’ land. Currently, China is approaching a state of panic due to the lack of food to sustain their people. This is why Timothy Snyder argues the next genocide is rapidly approaching our society. Snyder explains the next genocide
The truth about genocide is each situation is unique, the motivations, mindsets and values can all change from example to example. One thing remains the same, genocide is always a deliberate action that results in the death of many people. Whether a genocide is meant to be a statement of power, a political scheme, or a means of cleansing a nation of people whom someone has deemed unfit to live there, genocide remains unto this day an almost natural reaction by which people solve complex issues. The importance of studying genocide is that understanding the motivations, no matter how deplorable, that lead to genocidal actions is the only way by which we can begin to present new less atrocious ways of handling these complex social issues to the depraved individuals who orchestrate genocide.
In the article, “Columbus’s Legacy: Genocide in the America’s,” by David E. Stannard, the theme can be identified as contrary to popular belief that the millions of native peoples of the Americas that perished in the sixteenth century died not only from disease brought over by the Europeans, but also as a result of mass murder, as well as death due to working them to death.
On September 11, 2001, something bad happened. Nearly 3,000 people were killed. It destroyed the world’s two largest building. 9/11 is also a very important event in U.S. history because it took lots of lives, affected the U.S., and changed lots of people’s lives.
When 1937 arrived, Japanese soldiers raided China’s capital of Nanking and began to mass murder citizens. A sole leader of the Japanese Imperial Army was non-existent. There were many of people in power such as generals who allowed these behaviors to occur. Baron Koki Hirota, Foreign minister at the time, proceeded to do nothing while being well aware of the Japanese’s persecution of the Chinese. These unsympathetic murders of those who were thought to be Chinese soldiers as well as woman, children and elderly. This massacre lasted between the 1937 and 1938. Within this time 300,000 Chinese citizens were viciously killed. This genocide is called Rape of Nanking because of raping the woman before killing them. Most likely this group was selected because the second world war happened in Asia. This was significant because a country was able to kill half the population of another. I believe the reason of this Genocide was for Japan to take advantage of China while expand Japan. Most likely the Japanese wished to exterminate China’s entire population.
To fully understand genocide, one must first try to define it. Genocide is “the effort to destroy the essential foundations of the life of national groups whose objectives would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups” (Charny 2). The crime of genocide dates from a very long time ago. The first time a genocide crime happened is not dated or even remembered and it is “lost in antiquity” (Charny 41). That raises the issue that maybe humans were created with all that hatred inside them. But again there is no evidence about this.
Benis A.M. Toward Self & Sanity: On the Genetic Origins of the Human Character. Psychological Dimensions Publishers, New York, 1985
Globalization is a term which became popular after the 3th quarter of the 20th century. It is used to describe the movement of people, information, commodities and financial tools across national borders which increase the interconnection between countries economically, politically, socially and culturally. The effects of globalisation on different fields are one of the main discussion topics of these days. One can easily find thousands of articles on the impacts of globalisation on economy, agriculture, politics, democracy, science and even on climate. However, globalisation and its effects on culture is an unheeded area. The defenders of globalisation consciously avoid discussing culture, because they all know that globalisation is the main source of cultural genocide.