The Holocaust and Genocide

2351 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: analysis and interpretation of the boy in striped pajamas

“Why is the killing of 1 million a lesser crime then the killing of one

person?” (Scream Bloody Murder). Throughout history groups of people have been

killed by ruling powers, but the unlawful acts went without title until recent events in the

1940ʼs. The mass killings in Germany activated against the Jews created a new word,

genocide. “Genocide refers to the widespread murder and other acts committed by

governments or other groups with the intent to destroy - in whole or in part- a national,

racial, religious or ethnic group” (Choices Program 1). This definition was placed by

international governments, but the word was developed by a single man in response to

the Holocaust. Grappling for a way to express the magnitude of the actions against the

Jews during World War II, Raphael Lemkin decided to create a new word to embody the

concept (Rusesabagina 136). “ʻGenoʼ is from greek meaning race or tribe, and ʻCideʻ is

derived from latin, meaning Killing” (Choices Program 4). With the creation of the word

and the definition, people began to acknowledge that genocide was wrong. During the

twentieth century, nearly 170 million people were killed by governments or political

violence, forty million of them in genocides(Choices Program 1). Nearly six million Jews

were killed in the Holocaust (Rossel 1), and nothing was done to stop it. The impact of

genocide on the victims is horrific, and murder to this degree must be prevented by

those who have the means to help.

International involvement in genocides has always been carried out with

hesitance, this is due to many reasons. The United States has a well developed selfesteem

in world views that was created over the decades, but when dealing in foreign

conflicts America is...

... middle of paper ...

... open its eyes, and take action.

Works Cited

Choices Program, ed. "Introduction : Never Again?" Confronting Genocide. Brown

University.

Evans, Carrell. "The Bystanders." History of the Holocaust. MonDak Heritage Center.

Web. 4 Dec. 2009. bystanders.html>. Ghosts of Rwanda. Dir. Greg Barker. PBS, 2004. DVD.

Hatzfeld, Jean. Machete Season. New York: Picador, 2005.

Rossel, Seymour. The Holocaust. New York: Franklin Watts, 1981.

Rusesabagina, Paul. An Ordinary Man. New York: Penguin Books, 2006.

Scream Bloody Murder. Screenplay by Christiane Amanpour. CNN. DVD.

"Talking about genocides." Genocides. Peace Pledge Union. Web. 1 Dec. 2009. www.ppu.org.uk/genocide/g_holocaust.html>. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Pref. Vera Farmiga and David Thewlis. Dir. Mark

Herman. Miramax Films, 2009. DVD.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of An Ordinary Man And Hotel Rwanda

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    The physical and mental intent to destroy another being often unveils the darkest side of human nature. In the memoir, “An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography” dedicated to the Rwandan genocide, war hero Paul Rusesabagina states: “A sad truth of human nature is that it is hard to care for people when they are abstractions, hard to care when it is not you or somebody close to you. Unless the world community can stop finding ways to dither in the face of this monstrous threat to humanity those words never again will persist in being one of the most abused phrases in the English language and one of the greatest lies of our time.” The United Nations promised never again would they allow genocide to occur after the Second World War. Unfortunately, less

    Read More

  • Genocide Persuasive Essay

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    Genocide is a pressing issue with a multitude of questions and debates surrounding it. It is the opinion of many people that the United Nations should not get involved with or try to stop ongoing genocide because of costs or impositions on the rights of a country, but what about the rights of an individual? The UN should get involved in human rights crimes that may lead to genocide to prevent millions of deaths, save money on humanitarian aid and clean up, and fulfill their responsibilities to stop such crimes. It is preferable to stop genocide before it occurs through diplomacy, but if necessary, military force may be used as a last resort. Navi Pillay, Human Rights High Commissioner, stated, “Concerted efforts by the international community at critical moments in time could prevent the escalation of violence into genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or ethnic cleansing.”

    Read More

  • The Holocaust And The Holocaust

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Holocaust was one of the most tragic and harmful things to befall the human race. Yet not a lot of people understand just how terrible it was. But if we don't know about it, how will we know if history will ever repeat itself or not? We need to know because we can't let it happen ever again. There is so much to know as well. From the life of Anne Frank to World War II as a whole, there are so many things involved its unbelievable. But what exactly is the full depth of the Holocaust, and what was all a part of it.

    Read More

  • Compare the way Goldhagen and Browning present the perpetrators of the Holocaust

    2071 Words  | 5 Pages

    The events which have become to be known as The Holocaust have caused much debate and dispute among historians. Central to this varied dispute is the intentions and motives of the perpetrators, with a wide range of theories as to why such horrific events took place. The publication of Jonah Goldhagen’s controversial but bestselling book “Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust” in many ways saw the reigniting of the debate and a flurry of scholarly and public interest. Central to Goldhagen’s disputed argument is the presentation of the perpetrators of the Holocaust as ordinary Germans who largely, willingly took part in the atrocities because of deeply held and violently strong anti-Semitic beliefs. This in many ways challenged earlier works like Christopher Browning’s “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland” which arguably gives a more complex explanation for the motives of the perpetrators placing the emphasis on circumstance and pressure to conform. These differing opinions on why the perpetrators did what they did during the Holocaust have led to them being presented in very different ways by each historian. To contrast this I have chosen to focus on the portrayal of one event both books focus on in detail; the mass shooting of around 1,500 Jews that took place in Jozefow, Poland on July 13th 1942 (Browning:2001:225). This example clearly highlights the way each historian presents the perpetrators in different ways through; the use of language, imagery, stylistic devices and quotations, as a way of backing up their own argument. To do this I will focus on how various aspects of the massacre are portrayed and the way in which this affects the presentation of the per...

    Read More

  • The Role Of Jehovah's Witnesses In The Holocaust

    555 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Holocaust was a bloody, terrifying event that unfortunately happened during the world’s most bloody war, World War II. The end result of a portion of deaths of the Holocaust resulted in astounding number of about 6,000,000 Jewish people dead. However, there were about 13,684,900 other lives that were taken during this “cleansing period” that Adolf Hitler once said. Those lives included civilians in surrounding countries, resisters against the Nazi nation, opposing religious members, and many more. Although, over 6,000,000 Jewish people died, many others died who are just as memorable.

    Read More

  • Stereotyping of Jews

    1291 Words  | 3 Pages

    "History of the Holocaust - An Introduction." Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Web. 8 July 2010. .

    Read More

  • Genocide in Rwanda: Extreme Denial of Human Rights

    1536 Words  | 4 Pages

    Former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali once said, "We were not realizing that with just a machete, you can do a genocide." To be candid, nobody anticipated the Rwandan Genocide that occurred in 1994. The genocide in Rwanda was an infamous blood-red blur in modern history where almost a million innocent people were murdered in cold blood. Members of the Tutsi tribe were systematically hacked or beaten to death by members of the Interahamwe, a militia made up of Hutu tribe members. In just 100 days, from April 6, 1994 to mid-July, 20% of Rwanda's population was killed; about 10,000 people a day. Bodies literally were strewn over city streets. Genocide obviously violates almost all articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; however, the article I find most important is Article 3 - the right to life, liberty, and personal security. In just 100 days, one million people were denied the most basic privilege granted to every human – the right to live, simply because they were born to the wrong tribe.

    Read More

  • Causes of the Holocaust

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Victims." A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust. University of South Florida, 1 Jan. 1997. Web. 19 May 2014. .

    Read More

  • Holocaust Denial and Distortion

    2232 Words  | 5 Pages

    As early as age thirteen, we start learning about the Holocaust in classrooms and in textbooks. We learn that in the 1940s, the German Nazi party (led by Adolph Hitler) intentionally performed a mass genocide in order to try to breed a perfect population of human beings. Jews were the first peoples to be put into ghettos and eventually sent by train to concentration camps like Auschwitz and Buchenwald. At these places, each person was separated from their families and given a number. In essence, these people were no longer people at all; they were machines. An estimation of six million deaths resulting from the Holocaust has been recorded and is mourned by descendants of these people every day. There are, however, some individuals who claim that this horrific event never took place.

    Read More

  • The Holocaust

    2615 Words  | 6 Pages

    It was in December 1948, when it was approved unanimous the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide at France which became the 260th resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations. What made the leaders of the 41 States create and sign this document in which the term Genocide was legally defined? This document serves as a permanent reminder of the actions made by the Nazis and their leader Adolf Hitler during the Holocaust where more than five million of European Jews were killed. In summary I will explain what were the events that leaded the ordinary Germans kill more than six million Jews in less than five years. To achieve this goal, I will base my arguments on the Double Spiral Degeneration Model provided by Doctor Olson during the spring semester of the Comparative Genocide class.

    Read More

  • The Horrors of Genocide: Night, by Elie Wiesel

    1706 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 m...

    Read More

  • The Holocaust: Genocide And The Holocaust

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    Holocaust I've thought, and thought about resistance in the Holocaust and I've come to this comprehension: No phrase or verse or detailed explanation can illustrate the level of terror and oppression that took place. The Holocaust was probably the most arguably infamous series of despiteful human rights and cold blooded murder in modern history. The rise of the powerful Adolf Hitler has set his war against Jewish people, Jewish culture and Jewish memory. If the twisted philosophy of the Nazi regime was to eradicate Jewish memory, then it is our duty to remember the Jewish lives that perished and to keep Jewish memory alive. There was approximately six million Jews were sent to death camps and killed during World War II (1939-1945). So what do you think that led up to this? Why Adolf Hitler hatred towards Jews is so strong that made him did the inhuman cruel murder? Well the resolution lies in the ethnic undercurrents that ran beneath the peripheral of Germany and the world.

    Read More

  • The Holocaust: The Cause Of The Holocaust

    2193 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Holocaust is the history of continuing mourning and dismay. It seemed to be no ignition of concern or sympathy to lighten up this dreadful history. The Holocaust was the extermination of six million Jews and millions of other people that fell into the “undesirable” category, including blacks, gypsies, and homosexuals, by the Nazi Party during World War II. By 1945, two out of every three Jews were killed: 1.5 million children were murdered. Holocaust survivor, Abel Herzberg said,” There were not six million Jews murdered; there was one murder, six million times.”

    Read More

  • The Cambodian Genocide

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    SAINATI, TATIANA E. "Toward A Comparative Approach To The Crime Of Genocide." Duke Law Journal 62.1 (2012): 161-202. Academic Search Premier. Web. 25 Nov. 2013

    Read More

  • The Effects of the Berlin Conference on Africa

    2036 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hymowitz, Sarah, and Amelia Parker. "Lessons - The Genocide Teaching Project - Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law." American University Washington College of Law. American UniversityWashington College of Law Center for Human Rights and Humanitaian Law, 2011. Web. 9 Mar. 2011. .

    Read More

More about The Holocaust and Genocide

Open Document