The Holocaust (World War II, Europe)
* Dates: 1941-1945 (systematic extermination), but persecution began earlier with Nazi rise to power.
* Victims: Approximately 6 million Jews (2/3 of European Jewry), along with millions of Roma, disabled people, Slavs, homosexuals, and political opponents.
* Perpetrators: Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler and its collaborators.
* Methods: Mass shootings, gassing in extermination camps (e.g., Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka), forced labor, starvation, medical experimentation.
* Ideology: Nazi racial ideology of Aryan supremacy and antisemitism.
Armenian Genocide (Ottoman Empire)
* Dates: 1915-1923 (primarily 1915-1916).
* Victims: Estimated 1.5 million Armenians.
* Perpetrators: Ottoman government (Young Turks).
* Methods: Forced deportations (death marches into the Syrian Desert), starvation, massacres, and systematic killings.
* Context: Occurred during World War I, often cited as the first modern genocide.
Cambodian Genocide (Cambodia)
* Dates: 1975-1979.
* Victims: Estimated 1.5 to 3 million Cambodians (about 25% of the population).
* Perpetrators: Khmer Rouge regime under Pol Pot.
* Ideology: Radical communist ideology aiming to create an agrarian, classless society by eliminating perceived enemies (intellectuals, urban dwellers, ethnic minorities, former government officials).
* Methods: Forced labor, starvation, execution, torture in prisons like S-21 (Tuol Sleng), and the "Killing Fields" mass graves.
Bosnian Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
* Dates: 1992-1995.
* Victims: Primarily Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) civilians, along with Croats.
* Perpetrators: Bosnian Serb forces, supported by Serbia, aiming for "ethnic cleansing" to create a Greater Serbia.
* Methods: Mass killings (notably the Srebrenica massacre of over 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in 1995), systematic rape, forced displacement, torture in concentration camps.
* Context: Part of the breakup of Yugoslavia.
Holodomor (Soviet Ukraine)
* Dates: 1932-1933.
* Victims: Millions of Ukrainians (estimated 3.5 to 5 million).
* Perpetrators: Soviet regime under Joseph Stalin.
* Nature: Man-made famine caused by Soviet policies of forced collectivization, grain requisitions, and suppression of Ukrainian nationalism. While debated by some historians, many consider it a genocide aimed at crushing Ukrainian resistance.
Darfur Genocide (Sudan)
* Dates: Began in 2003 and continues with ongoing violence.
* Victims: Primarily non-Arab ethnic groups (e.g., Fur, Masalit, Zaghawa).
* Perpetrators: Sudanese government forces and allied Arab militias (Janjaweed).
* Methods: Mass killings, systematic rape, destruction of villages, forced displacement, and starvation.
* Context: Conflict between the government and rebel groups in the Darfur region.
Here are some flashcard points for Deng Xiaoping's rule and the Rwandan genocide:
Deng Xiaoping's Rule (China)
* Four Modernizations: Key economic reforms focusing on agriculture, industry, national defense, and science/technology.
* Responsibility System: Replaced communes, allowing peasants to lease land and keep profits, boosting agricultural output.
* Special Economic Zones (SEZs): Designated areas with more market-oriented policies to attract foreign investment and promote economic growth.
* One-Child Policy: Implemented in 1979 to control population growth (later relaxed).
* Tiananmen Square Protests (1989): Student-led demonstrations for democratic reforms, met with a violent crackdown by the government.
* "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics": Deng's pragmatic approach combining socialist ideology with market principles.
Rwandan Genocide (1994)
* Dates: Approximately April 7 to July 15, 1994 (around 100 days).
* Victims: Primarily Tutsi minority and moderate Hutu.
* Perpetrators: Hutu extremists, including the Hutu Power government and ordinary citizens.
* Causes: Deep-seated ethnic tensions (fueled by colonial history), political instability, and hate propaganda (e.g., Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines - RTLM).
* Trigger: Assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana (a Hutu) on April 6, 1994.
* International Response: Largely inadequate, with the UN peacekeeping force significantly reduced.
* Aftermath: Led to the overthrow of the Hutu government by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and significant international legal action (e.g., International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda - ICTR).