Name:

Stalin’s PurgesDate: 1932-33, 1936-37

Location: Ukraine, Soviet Union

Victims: Kulaks (landowners), peasants, political opponents

Killer: Josef Stalin

Explain the situation: Forced landowners off farms to create collective farms, forced peasants to work on farms, exported ALL the food from Ukraine to the USSR; killed those who protested, tried to leave, or tried to help; included establishment of camps in Siberia; Great Purge (1936-37)—murder of thousands of people suspected of opposing Stalin politically

What steps were taken to end it (and by whom)? People who opposed Stalin were killed or sent to Siberia. After his death , the next Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev , admitted Stalin’s atrocities publicly

Impact: 7 million dead in Ukraine; up to 20 million killed by Stalin overall

RwandaDate: 1994 Location: Africa

Victims: Tutsis and moderate Hutus Killer: Hutus

Explain the situation: Hutus attacked the Tutsis people because Tutsis had better jobs, more money, more power, and treated the Hutu badly. Many of the attacks were carried out house-to-house with machetes. The Tutsi started their own rebellion against the Hutu and fought back to end it.

What steps were taken to end it (and by whom)? The United Nations and the United States knew about it and did nothing. They thought it was not their problem and it would be too risky to get involved.

Impact: 1 million Tutsis killed; 2 million left Rwanda as REFUGEES

Africa

Name:

CambodiaDate: 1975 1979‐

Location: The country of Cambodia in SE Asia; Pol Pot called it Kampuchea while he was ruling

Victims: People who were against Communism, educated people, religious leaders, minorities, and in general, civilians

Killer: Pol Pot (man) and Khmer Rouge (group); Communists

Explain the situation: The Khmer Rouge government wanted everyone to leave cities and work on large collective farms. They forced people out of cities; banned all foreign influencesMany people starved or died of exhaustion from being overworked in what were known as the “killing fields.” Others were murdered if they did not support the government .

What steps were taken to end it (and by whom)? Vietnam took over Cambodia and kicked the Khmer Rouge government out for the next ten years ; Pol Pot continued guerrilla warfare against new Cambodian gov’ts.

Impact: Death of 25 percent of population from starvation, overwork, and executions; 2 million deaths

ArmeniaDate: 1915-1918 (1923)

Location: Turkey/Armenia

Victims: Armenians, Armenian Turks

Killers: Ottoman Turks (“Young Turks”)

Explain the situation: Ottoman Turks wanted to expand control to Central Asia. They forced the Christian Armenians out of Turkey on death marches, where people starved, were killed outright, forced into servitude, raped systematically

What steps were taken to end it (and by whom)? Allied Powers issued warning—no effect. Temporary relief when Russian troops attacked from east, but ended with Russian Revolution. Armenians fought back when they were attacked again. Young Turks fled to Germany, but were found and assassinated. Republic of Armenia established. President Wilson tried to support/protect Armenia, but Congress rejected making Armenia a US protectorate. Turks re-occupied lands; tiny portion of Armenia survived by becoming part of USSR.

Impact: 1.5 million people killed; destruction of Armenian Culture, including architecture and ancient libraries; convinced Hitler nobody would offer opposition if he took similar action in Poland

Southeast Asia

Name:

Bosnia, KosovoDate: 1992-95

Location: Srebrenica, Bosnia

Victims: Bosnian Muslims

Killers: Bosnian Serbs; Radovan Karadzic, Slobodan Milosevic

Explain the situation: Yugoslavia had been united and controlled after World War II by the communist leader, Tito. After his 1980 death, political instability erupted as different ethnic groups demanded independence. Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic used his military advantage in Croatia and then Bosnia. As the Serbs gained ground In Bosnia, they began to systematically round up local Muslims. What followed included mass shootings, forced repopulation of entire towns, and confinement in make-shift concentration camps for men and boys. The Serbs also terrorized Muslim families into fleeing their villages by using rape as a weapon against women and girls. Serbian actions were known as “ethnic cleansing.” Bosnian Serbs operated under the local leadership of Radovan Karadzic. They targeted Muslim towns declared safe havens by the United Nations.

What steps were taken to end it (and by whom)? The U.N. responded by imposing economic sanctions on Serbia and also deployed its troops to protect the distribution of food and medicine to dispossessed Muslims. UN troops would not intervene, however. In 1994, US President Clinton, through NATO, issued an ultimatum and negotiated a cease-fire, but NATO launched airstrikes when Serbs attacked safe havens and UN peacekeepers. A peace treaty was signed in Dayton, Ohio in 1995.

Impact: Over 200,000 dead; 2 million refugees

Resources: http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/ http://www.ushmm.org/genocide/ http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/ http://www.genocideintervention.net/stay_informed/genocide_past_and_present http://www.ppu.org.uk/genocide http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/africa/2004/rwanda/default.stm http://www.cambodiangenocide.org/genocide.htm