20th Century Mass Atrocities

Unfortunately, the 20th century saw more human deaths through conflict than any other century.

World Wars: The two World Wars resulted in approximately 120 million deaths. A significant portion, about half, were civilians who died due to bombings and famine.
New Technology:
- World War II saw the advancement and implementation of aerial warfare, including firebombing which caused massive urban destruction and hundreds of thousands of deaths.
- The atomic bomb led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Extremist Political Ideologies: The rise of extremist ideologies aimed to destroy entire populations based on race or ethnicity was a primary cause of mass atrocities.

Occurred in 1915-1916 within the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Empire, under the influence of the Young Turks, sought to create a primarily Turkic state.
The Armenian Christian population was viewed with suspicion.
During World War I, Ottoman authorities feared Armenians might support enemy armies.
A program of mass extermination was initiated, including outright slaughter and forcible relocation.
Relocated Armenians suffered from malnourishment and brutality.
An estimated 600,000 to 1 million Armenians were killed in the Ottoman genocide.

Took place during World War II in Nazi Germany.
A key element of Hitler's German nationalism was the desire to create a purified German race.
The Nazis aimed to exterminate groups believed to tarnish racial purity through the "Final Solution".
Targeted groups included Roma, homosexuals, disabled people, political enemies, and Jews.
The Jewish population was the primary target.
Before the war, the Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of their rights and forced them into ghettos, leading to marginalization and abuse.
Concentration camps were constructed, where Jews were subjected to hard labor, and extermination camps were established for mass murder.
Auschwitz was the largest extermination camp, where approximately 12,000 people were killed daily using large-scale gas chambers.
Approximately 6 million Jews and 5 million people from other targeted groups were killed.

Occurred in the late 1970s.
The Khmer Rouge, a communist group led by Pol Pot, gained power in Cambodia.
With China's support, Pol Pot aimed to transform Cambodia into an agrarian state, eliminating Western influence.
Cities were emptied, and people were forced into labor camps.
The educated population, seen as influenced by Western ideas, were targeted for extermination.
The genocide resulted in the death of approximately a quarter of the Cambodian population, although racially motivated.