Genocide In Cambodia Essay

The True Impact of the Cambodian Genocide The Cambodian Genocide was a tragic event that took place in 1975 and lasted until about 1979. The genocide was led by Pol Pot and the communist party Kampuchea, also knowns as the Khmer Rouge. Millions of people were killed during this catastrophe. The Khmer Rouge was are the regime that controlled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979.

A genocide is the the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation, the Holocaust and the Cambodian Genocide are examples of this. After the Holocaust, in 1945 the United Nations realized that genocides were a continuously happening. They realized they needed to prevent genocides and global conflict in general.

Cambodian Genocide Cambodia was the site of a mass murder which occurred from 1975-1979 (Janikowski, 2006). This mass murder is known as the Cambodian Genocide because of the massive amounts of people that died. According to Janikowski (2006), “the country, which was renamed the Democratic Republic of Kampuchea, is thought to have lost between one and two million people—perhaps as much as a quarter of its total population—during the purges, mass executions, and starvation that marked the four years of Pol Pot's rule”. The Cambodian Genocide was carried out by The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot (Janikowski, 2006). Their goal was to purify the nation and extreme measures were taken to meet this goal, and many people ended up losing their lives in terrible ways.

The mass killing of 25 percent of a country's population is classified as a genocide;also a sin and immoral action of those upstanders and bystanders that witness, initiate or, participated in the Cambodian genocide. These people that initiated the Khmer rouge and set forth the Cambodian genocide are sinners, mass murders, and cruel. To kill a babies, the elderly, and enslave many children and adults. To starve and exterminate them as well. The Khmer rouge and all its members should be tried and sentenced for their sins against the innocent.

Causes of the Cambodian Genocide The Cambodian genocide took place from 1975 to 1979; it is estimated that some two million Cambodians were systematically murdered by the Khmer Rouge and its followers (Power 90). In Alexander Hinton’s article, “A Head for an Eye” he recounts in details the experience of Gen, a survivor of the Cambodian Genocide. After the Lon Nol government was overthrown by the Khmer Rouge, the Communists began their witch-hunt in an attempt to identify and kill anyone who was associated with the former regime, as well as the educated, the Vietnamese, the Muslim Cham, the Buddhist monks, and other “bourgeois elements” (Power 101). During the investigation, it was revealed that Gen’s father was a teacher–this fact alone was

The Cambodian genocide was an agrarian genocide founded on the ideals of Stalin and Mao’s communistic ideals. While the Arminian genocide was founded on the belief that the Armenian population was joining the Russian army to fight against the Ottoman Empire. Some Armenians did fight with the Russian army, but it should not have led to the systematic elimination of men, women, and children in that order. The Khmer Rouges policies of forced movement from a modern society to an agrarianist state is undoubtedly questionable when understanding the policies of the Khmer Rouge. While in the aspect of the Ottoman Empire, they removed people for elimination purposes only. Both of these genocides have many similarities and differences, and it is a historian’s

Similarly, the Cambodians and Jews have both stood witness to the executions of one race. During the Cambodian Genocide, Pol Pot the leader, wiped out millions of educated Cambodians who were doctors, teachers, lawyers, bilingual, etc. His overall goal was to make the Kingdom of “Cambodia” a utopian society where everyone was equal and he reigned as king. In fact, the Khmer Rouge rounded up and separated family members to work in different villages in Cambodia. In addition, older men and young boys were sent to fight in the war. Women were distributed across Cambodia either working in kitchens, working fields, or hospitals while their infant children assisted them. Just like Pol Pot, in the Holocaust, Hitler’s goal was to make Germany a country where everyone had the same physical appearance, blue eyes and blonde hair. Unfortunately, Jews did not have that appearance. During the Cambodian Genocide and the Holocaust, the officers beat and prodded the victims that did not meet their expectations and were abruptly displaced from their homes. In comparison to the Cambodians, Germany’s dictator, Adolf Hitler, had one goal to execute all Jews, just like how Pol Pot had a goal to kill all educated Cambodians. Both the Cambodians in the Cambodian Genocide and the Jews in the novel Night were treated similarly because both victims were displaced out of their homes, overworked, mistreated, and starved.

The Holocaust and the Cambodian genocide are acutely similar in many ways. The Holocaust took place under Adolf Hitler, which was the country’s sole leader. On January 30, of 1933, Adolf Hitler was named the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (An Introductory History). At the same time, the Cambodian genocide, who also had a sole leader, was named Pol Pot. Pol Pot’s entire outline was to reconstruct the country, just as Adolf Hitler had (Cambodia 1975). To reconstruct Cambodia, Pol Pot had been influenced by Mao Zedong, who had turned China into a communist country (“Cambodia 1975”). During the Holocaust, a countless amount of deaths occurred. About 11 million people had been killed during the Holocaust and only about

The Khmer Rouge has taken over Cambodia. This is much like what is happening in the Soviet Union. It may look different but the mass murdering and cruelty has lead both countries into a state which is not looked at kindly. Each country was in the same situation from the standpoint of the citizens. Rights were taken away, torture and cruel deaths occurred, and the death of many was looked at by the powerful as a worthy cause to the country as a whole.

In 1944, a Polish-Jewish lawyer came up with the word, “genocide.” However, even seventy-five years later, many people still debate what factors go into making a genocide. Of course, there is mass murder, mistreatment of large groups of people, and difficult life conditions. Take the Cambodian Genocide, for example. People were tortured and killed so much during this genocide that at one of the death camps, “as few as 12 managed to survive” (Pierpaoli).

"Cambodian Genocide." Modern Genocide) These two were in different places and times, yet they are the same. The people are forced from their homes, and often to work, “Cambodian society was torn from its roots through mass evacuations (especially from the towns and cities, which were emptied immediately and brutally as the new rulers arrived). Nothing was allowed to stand in the way of the Khmer Rouge 's overarching project of social engineering and radical restructuring of society.

Persecution against any identifiable group of collectivity on political, radical, national, ethnic, cultural, religion, gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other groups that are university recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court, i. Enforced disappearance of persons, j. The crime of apartheid, k. Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.” (cite ur sources). Now, it’s widely known that one of the key factors in any genocide is the ideation and hope that you will successfully erase an ethnic group. And while this was the exact intent of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge Soldiers, after time passed, many innocent men, women, and children were enforced into becoming a Khmer Rouge soldier. A majority of the people were only trying to survive, and in turn had to sometimes kill.

In 1944, a Polish-Jewish lawyer came up with the word, “genocide.” However, even seventy-five years later, many people still debate what factors go into making a genocide. Of course, there is mass murder, mistreatment of large groups of people, and difficult life conditions. Take the Cambodian Genocide, for example. People were tortured and killed so much during this genocide that at one of the death camps, “as few as 12 managed to survive” (Pierpaoli).

It is estimated that nearly 1.7 million are dead. These deaths occurred under the torturous rule of the Khmer Rouge, and its leader Pol Pot. Here in America, you don’t see us having a mass genocide, such as this. That is because we are a Capitalistic nation. Communism should not be what countries are striving for, yet places like Cambodia and the Soviet Union are.

A genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. The most well-known Genocide in the world is the Holocaust, a mass murder of 6 million Jews and other ethnic groups that were said to be inferior to the Germans. 3 other popular Genocides include the Rwanda, the Morori, and the Irish-potato famine. Each of the genocides have had a great impact on the entire world.