Hideki Tojo was the prime minister of Japan during World War II.

Japanese AtrocitiesJapanese AtrocitiesActs on Civilians

• Nanking (1937-38)1. Nearly 500,000 civilians

were executed

2. Over 10,000 Chinese were raped

• Occupied Territories1. Eliminated

cultural/religious leadership—try to install Japanese lifestyles

2. Resistance suspects were rounded up and killed

3. Enslaved civilians for war industry

Treatment of POW’s• Wounded were often

killed

• Food/Water rations were minimal

• Often used for forced Labor

• Torture/Brain-washing for information and propaganda

• Varied greatly within the Japanese military

What was the Holocaust?

The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.

Other than the Holocaust, what are 5 other examples of genocide that took place

during the 20th Century?

• Muslim Turks killed over 1 million Christian Armenians during World War I.

• Joseph Stalin ordered the killing of at least 20 million who he saw as a threat to his authority (wealthier peasants, government and military leaders). This is known as the Great Purge.

• In 1976, over a million people were executed or died from starvation in Cambodia when Pol Pot forced everyone to move to the countryside.

• In 1994, over 80,000 Tutsi were murdered by Hutu in Rwanda.

• Bosnian Serbs (Christians) murdered Muslims and Croats in former Yugoslavia.

Genocide against Armenians

Genocide in the USSR

Nazi AtrocitiesNazi AtrocitiesConcentration Camps• 14 million civilians

were killed by the Nazis1. Racial/Ethnic Minorities

2. Political Opponents

3. Resistance/Underground leaders

4. Intellectuals/Clergy

• Were used by the Nazis1. As slave labor

2. In experiments on nutrition, pain, genetics—Dr. Mengele

• Were executed as Nazis retreated (1944-45)

The Holocaust• 6 million Jews were

murdered by the Nazis

• Nazis blamed Jews for all the hardships of German History

• Nazi “Final Solution” for the Jews (1942)

1. Death Camps were built to carry out mass executions

2. Used less as slave labor—starvation rations

3. Carried out by the SS—Adolph Eichmann

4. Executions increased as the Nazi Army retreated

Nazi AtrocitiesNazi AtrocitiesHitler’s Special Prison

• Special prisoners were dealt with directly by Hitler & Nazi Leadership

1. Leaders of the resistance movements

2. Political enemies

3. Assassins and conspirators

• Used unusually cruel methods1. Decapitations

2. Hangings: Piano Wire, Meat Hooks, Barbed Wire

3. Prisoners were belittled and mocked

• Executions and Mock Trials were filmed1. Used to torture/intimidate other prisoners

2. Hitler/Nazi leaders viewed films in his theatre

Nazi AtrocitiesNazi AtrocitiesTreatment of POW’s

• Enemy POW’s were often executed by SS death squads

1. Especially in E. Europe

2. More common late in WWII

3. Most famous incident was Malmade (Battle of the Bulge-1944)

4. Part of overall strategy—terror

• Were human shields1. Located near factories

2. Located near military bases

3. Less likely to be bombed

Evidence• By 1942 Rumors were

worldwide• Byproducts1. Stockpiled items: shoes,

glasses, clothing, etc.

2. Made things from corpses: soap, candles, rope, dyes, lamp shades, fertilizer

3. Mass graves and ashes from crematoriums

• Found by advancing Allied Armies

• Nuremberg trials1. Many Nazis committed

suicide

2. Claimed to be following orders—Nuremberg Defense

Genocide in Cambodia

Genocide in Rwanda

Genocide against Muslims and Croats

What were the major outcomes of World War II?