Modern World History

Raphael Lemkin

→ Polish-Jewish lawyer; coined the term “genocide”; pushed for the Genocide Convention.

Talaat Pasha

→ Leader of the Ottoman Empire during WWI; orchestrated Armenian Genocide.

Woodrow Wilson

→ U.S. president during WWI; promoted 14 Points and creation of the League of Nations.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)

→ U.S. president during most of WWII; led America through the war; helped establish the UN.

Harry Truman

→ U.S. president after FDR; authorized use of atomic bombs; supported creation of the UN and Nuremberg Trials.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

→ U.S. general in WWII; later president; insisted on recording evidence of Nazi concentration camps.

Jimmy Carter

→ U.S. president; emphasized human rights in foreign policy; hosted Camp David Accords.

Ronald Reagan

→ U.S. president during the Cold War; controversial for visiting a German cemetery with Waffen-SS graves; signed U.S. ratification of the Genocide Convention.

William Proxmire 

→ U.S. senator; gave over 3,000 speeches urging ratification of the Genocide Convention.

Adolf Hitler

→ Nazi dictator responsible for the Holocaust and WWII destruction.

Pol Pot

→ Leader of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia; oversaw the Cambodian genocide (auto-genocide).

Henry Morgenthau

→ U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman Empire; reported on the Armenian Genocide.

Marshall Tito

→ Communist leader of Yugoslavia; after his death, ethnic tensions led to wars and ethnic cleansing.

Omar al-Bashir

→ Sudanese leader; indicted by the ICC for genocide in Darfur.

King Leopold II

→ King of Belgium; exploited Congo Free State, causing millions of deaths.

Bill Clinton

→ U.S. president during the Rwandan Genocide and Bosnian War; criticized for lack of intervention.

Ethnic Cleansing

→ Forcible removal of a population based on ethnicity.

Conquest of the Desert

→ Argentine military campaign (1870s–80s) that displaced/killed Indigenous peoples.

Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor)

→ 1932–33 famine caused by Soviet policies; millions died.

Trail of Tears

→ Forced removal of Cherokee and other tribes in the 1830s in the U.S.; thousands died.

Auto-genocide

→ A regime targeting its own people (e.g., Khmer Rouge in Cambodia).

League of Nations

→ First attempt at international peacekeeping after WWI; weak, failed to stop aggression.

United Nations (UN)

→ Founded in 1945 to promote peace and prevent atrocities; stronger successor to the League.

NATO

→ Military alliance formed in 1949 for collective defense against Soviet aggression.

ICC (International Criminal Court)

→ Permanent court (est. 2002, Rome Statute) to prosecute crimes against humanity/genocide.

C.U.P. (Committee of Union and Progress)

→ Young Turk party that ruled the Ottoman Empire and orchestrated the Armenian Genocide.

14 Points

→ Wilson’s post-WWI peace plan; self-determination and League of Nations.

Nuremberg Trials

→ Trials of Nazi leaders after WWII for crimes against humanity/genocide.

Genocide Convention (1948)

→ First international treaty banning genocide, heavily influenced by Lemkin.

Rome Statute (1998)

→ Treaty establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Dayton Accords (1995)

→ Peace agreement ending the Bosnian War and ethnic cleansing.

Madrid Conference (1991)

→ Peace talks over the Arab-Israeli conflict, with U.S. and Soviet sponsorship.

Armenian Genocide

→ 1915–16; Ottoman Empire (C.U.P., Talaat Pasha) killed ~1–1.5 million Armenians; U.S. gave aid but no military action.

Holocaust

→ 1941–45; Nazi Germany (Hitler, SS, Gestapo) killed ~6 million Jews + 5–6 million others (Roma, Poles, disabled, LGBTQ people, political dissidents).

Cambodian Genocide

→ 1975–79; Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot) killed ~1.7–2 million Cambodians (about 21% of population).

Bosnian Genocide

→ 1992–95; Bosnian Serb forces killed ~100,000 total; ~8,000 Bosniak men/boys at Srebrenica; NATO intervened, Dayton Accords ended war.

Rwandan Genocide

→ April–July 1994; Hutu extremists killed ~800,000–1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 100 days; U.S. failed to intervene.

Darfur Genocide

→ 2003–08; Sudanese govt. + Janjaweed killed ~300,000, displaced millions; ICC indicted Omar al-Bashir.

Belgian Congo Atrocities

→ 1885–1908; King Leopold II’s exploitation caused millions of deaths.

Tibet

→ Since 1950; Chinese repression and cultural destruction, often called “cultural genocide.”

WWI / WWII

→ Global conflicts that reshaped international law, human rights, and responses to genocide.

Somalia Syndrome

→ U.S. reluctance to intervene in humanitarian crises after failed 1993 “Black Hawk Down” mission in Somalia. 1915–1916 – Armenian Genocide → Ottoman Empire deported and massacred Armenians; ~1–1.5 million killed.

1918

Yugoslavia created → Multi-ethnic state formed after WWI; ethnic tensions later led to wars.

1919

Wilson’s 14 Points / League of Nations → Peace plan and failed first attempt at international peacekeeping.

1932–1933

Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) → Soviet policies caused millions of deaths.

1938

Trail of Tears remembered → Mass displacement of Cherokee and other tribes in 1830s; 4,000 deaths.

1939–1945

WWII → Global conflict; Holocaust killed ~11–12 million.

1941–1945

The Holocaust → Nazi extermination of Jews, Roma, disabled, LGBTQ people, and others; ~11–12 million dead.

1944

Raphael Lemkin coins “genocide” → Introduced term in his book Axis Rule in Occupied Europe.

1945

End of WWII / Nuremberg Trials / UN Founded → Nazis prosecuted; UN established to prevent future atrocities.

1948

Genocide Convention adopted → First international treaty banning genocide.

1948

State of Israel established → Homeland for Jewish refugees after Holocaust.

1975–1979

Cambodian Genocide → Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot) killed ~1.7–2 million Cambodians.

1986

U.S. Ratifies Genocide Convention → Ronald Reagan signed after decades of delay.

1991

Madrid Conference → Peace talks on Arab-Israeli conflict.

1992–1995

Bosnian Genocide / Ethnic Cleansing → Bosnian Serbs massacred Bosniaks; ~100,000 dead; NATO intervention.

1994

Rwandan Genocide → Hutus massacred ~800,000–1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 100 days.

1995

Dayton Accords → Peace agreement ending Bosnian War and ethnic cleansing.

1998

Rome Statute signed → Established the International Criminal Court (ICC).

2001

Slobodan Milošević arrested → Tried for war crimes; died before conviction.

2003–2008

Darfur Genocide → Sudanese government + Janjaweed killed ~300,000; millions displaced.

2004

U.S. declares Darfur a genocide → Colin Powell publicly states atrocities in Sudan are genocide.

2006

Milošević dies → Dies before conviction at The Hague.

2013 

South Sudan created → Non-Arab led; independence after Sudanese civil conflict.