History 102
Web Module # 3
State Violence in the Twentieth Century
Genocide, Democide, and The Holocaust
The Twentieth Century has witnessed more mass killings than in any
previous century. It is estimated that about 170,000,000
persons were systematically and cruelly killed by the actions of
governments. In many cases, these governments were their
own. Some were killed because of hatreds that were centuries
old. Some were killed to further political goals. Some were
killed in war, but most were killed not for what they were as
individuals, but for who they were as a group. By comparison,
although the numbers also are staggering, the deaths among soldiers
is relatively small. Of course, the invention of ever more
efficient killing weapons and weapons of mass destruction made the
wasting of human life that much easier. Inhumanity and
killing have always been part of humankind’s history, but the
Twentieth Century has done it so efficiently and in such a
magnitude that new words had to be invented to describe the
relentless slaughter that is so much a part of the history of this
century.
The legal
concept of crimes against humanity was first put forth in the
famous Andersonville trial after the end of the American Civil
War. Its universal acceptance in international law, however,
would only come about after World War II and the revelation of the
full dimensions of the Holocaust. In this century, crimes
against humanity would become one of the most defining political
characteristics. The great tragedy is that these
Twentieth Century slaughters have deprived the future of the
world’s most valuable resource: its peoples. In the
final analysis, the Twentieth Century may well become known not for
its great inventions, but for its killing fields. This web
module is designed to acquaint students with the both the scale and
character of systematic slaughter.
Assignment:
For the preliminary analysis do the following:
In your own words define and explain the problems in conceptualizing mass state murder.
Explain the need for the new term “Democide.”
Guided by the questions, determine which are the most relevant statistics at the Democide Web Site.
Determine which 20th Century example of state homicide you wish to explore.
Describe the documents that your group will use in exploring the specific case study of mass murder selected to analyze.
For the final analysis each Web Module Analysis Group must submit a single paper that does the following:
Explain what the materials at the “Freedom, Democide, War Home Page” taken together tell use about state violence in the 20th Century.
Explain what were the causes of the state violence your group has decided to explore in depth.
Explain why you think the 20th Century has seen so much state violence.
Conceptualizing Mass Murder
Genocide and Holocaust:Click on the PBS “Frontline: The Crime of Genocide” and read the Alain Destexhe’s definition of genocide and the Holocaust.
Read the definition of Genocide. What is the history of the term Genocide? What is the working definition of Genocide? What is the history of the term Holocaust? What would constitute a Holocaust? What is the problem in using these terms to describe the systematic killings of the Twentieth Century?
Frontline: The Crime of GenocideDemocide:
Click on the “Freedom, Democide, War Home Page” Web Site constructed by Professor R.J. Rummel..
Freedom, Democide, War: Home Page
Read Professor Rummel’s Introduction.
What does Professor Rummel want to prove with the data and materials located at his Web Site?
Does it seem logical?
Click on the Democide button.
What is the definition of Democide?
Why do we need a new term?
Explore the “Freedom, Domicide, War: Home Page.
What strikes you most about the materials contained at the Web Site?
How does the Twentieth Century compare with Domicide in previous centuries?
Search the site for statistics on battle casualties in the Twentieth Century and compare them with Domocide in this century. Which is larger? By how much?
Who were the Twentieth Centuries biggest mass murders?
Researching Mass Murder in the Twentieth Century
Select one of the cases of Genocide, Democide or the Holocaust to look at a little closer and carry out the following assignment. In conducting your research identify the following areas of historical interest.
Why did the events take place?
Who was involved in the events?
What were the results?
How did the rest of the world react?
In doing your research, be careful to distinguish between secondary materials that were written after the event or by non-observers and primary materials that are contemporary with the event or generated by actors in the event. In developing your report identify three (3) primary documents that seen to best offer insights into the nature of the events you are researching.
Web Sites Offering Links to materials on Genocide, Domicide, and the Holocaust.
Genocide: Resources for Teaching and Research.” Go to Links and then to Link Page 2.
http://www.people.memphis.edu/~genocide
Holocaust and Genocide Studies.”
http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/holocaust.html
Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies.” Go to Web Links.
http://www.migs.org/default.htm
Revelations from the Russian Archives” This is a Library of Congress site.
The Holocaust History Project.” Go to Documents.
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