Mass Atrocities 7.8

Mass Atrocities Overview

  • Essential Question: Causes and consequences of mass atrocities (1900-present).

Major Atrocities

  • Armenian Genocide (1915-1917):

    • 1.5 million Armenians killed by the Ottoman Empire under Young Turks.

    • First genocide of the 20th century.

  • Holocaust (1941-1945):

    • 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany; included 5 million others (political victims, disabled, etc.).

    • Led by Hitler's "Final Solution."

  • Cambodian Genocide (1975-1979):

    • Pol Pot's regime killed 1.6 to 1.8 million Cambodians.

  • Rwandan Genocide (1994):

    • 500,000 to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus killed.

  • Darfur Genocide (2003):

    • Government-backed militias killed over 200,000 non-Arab Africans, displacing over a million.

War Impacts

  • World War I:

    • 8-9 million military deaths; civilian casualties between 6-13 million.

    • Civilian targets included soldiers' actions in Belgium.

  • World War II:

    • Total deaths estimated at 40-50 million; civilian casualties exceeded military losses due to bombings and genocide.

Disease and Famine

  • Influenza Pandemic (1918):

    • Killed 20 million globally, exacerbated by returning soldiers.

  • Soviet Famines:

    • 7-10 million caused by Stalin's policies in Ukraine (1932-1933).

International Response and Human Rights

  • Post-Holocaust Responses:

    • Global commitment to prevent genocide; however, atrocities persisted in the 1990s and 2000s (Bosnia, Rwanda, Sudan).

  • **Key Terms: **

    • Genocide, ethnic cleansing, balkanization, Final Solution, Holocaust.