During World War II millions of Jewish people were murdered in an act of genocide. Genocide is “the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group” (Dictionary.com, 2013). The Nazis used concentration camps as a means to exterminate the Jewish people from German-controlled Europe during WWII. The Holocaust was the largest genocide in history in terms of the death toll (Wikipedia, 2013).
Skulls of victims of the Cambodian Genocide
There have been many more attempts at genocide since the Holocaust. An example of genocide that ended more recently is the Cambodian Genocide that lasted from 1975-1978 but devastated the area for years. The Genocide was the Khmer Rouge party lead by Pol Pot’s attempt to turn Cambodia into a communist agricultural society (Luke Walker, 2013). Many people were killed during the three years that the genocide lasted. The victims include anyone that the Khmer Rouge saw as potential opposition including educated people, religious enthusiasts, and people with Thai or Vietnamese backgrounds. They also murdered anyone who couldn’t work including people who were ill, handicapped, and children (Luke Walker, 2013)
There are many similarities between the Cambodian genocide and the Holocaust. One difference was that The Holocaust took many more lives than the Cambodian genocide, although both were devastating(Yale_University, 2013). Another difference is the Holocaust was an attempt by a fascist government whereas the Cambodian was an attempt to create a communist government. A similarity between the two is that little was done by surrounding countries to stop the genocide. Also, in both Genocides the people were being killed because of their ethnicity.
Walker, L. (2013) World Without Genocide. Retreived from http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/cambodian-genocide
(2013) . Dictionary.com. Retreived from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/genocide
(2013). Wikipedia. Retreived from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_genocides_by_death_toll
(2013). Yale University. Retreived from http://www.yale.edu/cgp/
(picture) (2013). Grace in Africa. Retreived from http://graceinafrica.com/justice-in-cambodia/
Social Studies 11 