Genocide in the 20th Century

Presentation by

Cynthia Capers, Associate Director of Education

(713) 942-8000, ext. 105

ccapers@hmh.org

The Holocaust

Translating the term 1933 – 1939 1939 – 1942 1942 – 1945 Post 1945

The importance of a word . . .

Armenia (WWI) Raphael Lemkin ‘After all, who now speaks

of the Armenians?’ “We are in the midst of a

crime without a name.” Geno + Cide

UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group as such:a. Killing members of the group;b. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the

group;c. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life

calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

d. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

e. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

8 Stages of Genocide1. Classification

a. Us vs. Them

2. Symbolizationa. Make distinctive

3. Dehumanizationa. “Justification”

4. Organizationa. Collectivization

5. Polarizationa. Take out the middle

6. Preparationa. Lists, transports

7. Exterminationa. Murder of

“nonhumans”

8. Deniala. Numbers, reasons

(war)

“A Problem from Hell”

Senator William Proxmire – 3,211 floor speeches

1988 2004 – then

Secretary of State Colin Powell

Sudan

Civil War (N/S) Religion as an issue US: “across the aisle” work Comprehensive Peace

Agreement (2010 Elections) The Lost Boys

Darfur (W)

Darfur, Sudan Farmers and nomadic

herders Ethnic identities that

could be exploited Religion is not an issue

Darfur, cont’d IDP camps versus refugee camps American and World response

Permanent anti-genocide constituency?

Films / photo essays / editorials The ICC US appoints a special envoy (Scott Gration,

2009)

UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group as such:a. Killing members of the group;b. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the

group;c. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life

calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

d. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

e. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

8 Stages of Genocide1. Classification

a. Us vs. Them

2. Symbolizationa. Make distinctive

3. Dehumanizationa. “Justification”

4. Organizationa. Collectivization

5. Polarizationa. Take out the middle

6. Preparationa. Lists, transports

7. Exterminationa. Murder of

“nonhumans”

8. Deniala. Numbers, reasons

(war)

What can you do? Write members of Congress and the

administration Blue Print from the Genocide Prevention Task

Force President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton,

Special Envoy Scott Gration, U.S. Senators 2010 Elections Legislation about conflict minerals in Congo

Keep the issues in the forefront – write letters to newspapers, hold information sessions

A note about resources HMH web site –

resources PDF one-pagers on

each genocide Guidelines for

teaching about genocide

HMH Genocide Curriculum Trunk Class sets of books Videos How to order