Alyssa's Journey to Understanding Genocide

Sources

Holocaust Encyclopedia. (June 20, 2014). Sobibor. Retrieved From http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005192.

Holocaust Encyclopedia. (n/a). Photo archives: Studio portrait of the Shapiro family in prewar Vilna. Retrieved from http://digitalassets.ushmm.org/photoarchives/detail.aspx?id=1178199.

Reflection Questions

1) People had jobs, children could go to school, and Jews had their own culture in eastern Europe.

2) The Jewish family's life is similar to mine, because we can go to school, our parents work, and we enjoy shows. This Jewish family managed to keep working even in Vilnius's ghetto, the daughter went to school and she also snuck into a nearby theater to watch plays and concerts.

3) A surprising fact that I learned was that two of every three Jews died in the Holocaust.

4) Polarization, dehumanization, and extermination is what this family could've experienced. Dehumanization is where they're treated like second class and on a lower rank than someone else, polarization is when people get separated and groups are drived apart, and extermination is when the group(s) get killed. The daughter in the photo was separated from her immediate family and survived

Photo Comparison

Vilnius, Lithuania

A family of four

posing for a formal family picture.

Date taken: around 1930

The Jewish family I researched lived in Vilnius, Lithuania. The population of the city was around 200,000, including over 55,000 Jews. Vilnius was a part of northeastern Poland before the Soviet Union came in, in 1939, and transferred the city to Lithuania. Lithuanian Jews had a role in Jews' beliefs and thinking.The Jews in Lithuania also had their own highly developed culture, and in eastern Europe in general, they had a separate life as a minority in a majority. They probably had an easier time in eastern Europe, being that they had "separate lives" and made up more of the population. Also, the family in the photo had jobs, and the daughter's father manged to work at a store he had owned.

There were around 160,000 Jews in Lithuania, making up 7% of the population, which increased to 10% due to refugees.

In 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet forces, and occupied Vilnius on the third day after the invasion.

After the Holocaust, around 10% of Jews were still around, and around 90% were killed.

A family of four at a Wizard of Oz show

Date taken: 2009

Similarities:

We each are posing for our pictures.

We each have four people in the photo.

The youngest person in the picture is a little sister.

Differences:

The Jewish family is dressed more formally.

There's nothing in the background of the Jewish family, other than the wall, while the modern family is in a theatre.

The Jewish family's picture is in black and white, while the modern family's picture is in color.

The Jewish family's expressions (aside from the little girl) is more serious than the modern family's expression.

Conflict and Genocide Significant Passage

World History

"The population of the city was 200,000 at this time (1939), including over 55,000 Jews. In addition, some 12,000-15,000 Jewish refugees from German-occupied Poland found refuge in the city. Soviet forces occupied Lithuania in June 1940 and in August 1940 incorporated Vilna, along with the rest of Lithuania, into the Soviet Union."

(http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005173. Holocaust Encyclopedia)

Language Arts:

"IN MID-OCTOBER A NOTICE CAME IN THE MAIL ORDERING MEN from sixteen to fifty to register. . . Finally Aurthur said quietly "I have heard about it. I know what happens. Young men are taken deep into Poland to rebiuld what was destroyed by the bombs." There was a quiver in his voice. Mama, Papa, and my Aunt Anna were pale as David added, "We will leave the day after tomorrow. . ." I was surprised Mama did not cry. She merely paced on the floor, her lips pressed together. Papa's arm hung heavily in its sling. Aunt Anna said nothing."

All But My Life Chapter 3, page 16

The Holocaust

Sobibor

Sobibor was a location of the killing center, Sobibor.

It was the second killing center of Operation Reinhard, constructed in 1942.

However, people there started an uprising and stood up against the German police and SS, which eventually caused this camp to shut down in 1943-1944.

Approximately 170,000 people were killed in Sobibor.

The death toll in the holocaust was roughly 6 million Jews and 11-12 million people were killed in total with the following groups being killed: Some Slavic people (Russians, Poles, and more), Homosexuals, Roma (gypsies).

In our study of the Holocaust, we researched what happened to people in different communities. Students were asked to research killing centers of Nazi Germany and create a slide outlining the statistics for that camp and place it on their Prez. One example is Sobibor, which was located within occupied Poland.

We also researched the lives of Jews before the Holocaust during the "Jewish Life Photo Project."

Bosnian Genocide

The Bosnian Genocide started in, now former, Yugoslavia. The Croats collaborated with the Nazis in the Holocaust, but Serbs mainly fell victim to the masssacres, and they both lived there, along with Muslims, which helped cause tension in the country.

Communist leader, Marshal Tito came into power after the Holocaust and managed to keep Yugoslavia together during the Cold War, but after his death, the people split apart, and eventually, Croats and Muslims (mainly men) were targeted by Serbs, which they called "ethnic cleansing." Because of this, around 200,000 people were killed.

European countries wanted to try peacekeeping, and the US stepped back, willingly, since the US was reluctant to call events in Bosnia "genocide." But, later the US lead an attack against the Bosnian Serb army, and also, in Dayton, Ohio, held a peace agreement that stopped the war and create "a democratic, multi-ethnic state."

U.S. Policy and Impact

New York Times Activity Part 1

-What is meant by the phrase "newspaper of record" and "all the news that's fit to print"?

It means that it has the most information about topics they choose, so it has the most important and accurate information.

-What could have been the benefit of covering the Armenian Genocide earlier for the Armenians?

It raises awareness of what's happpening to others and that it's not just a case, it's an actual genocide.

-Who created the term "genocide" and why is it important?

Raphael Lempkin created the term "genocide." This is important, since it puts a label on the actions taken against people and can help others create awareness and action to make sure it doesn't happen again.

-Why would the NY Times shy away from using the term genocide today?

They would shy away from the term genocide, since the U.S. is allied with

Turkey, who's in the denial stage, and using the term genocide could harm our relation with them and cause us to jepordize our military opperations.

Understanding Genocide

This prezi is to chart into understanding Genocide.

Before this unit, I didn't know what genocide was. I had heard of it before, and could take a guess of what it is, but didn't understand it.

Raphael Lemkin's Crusade

1)What limits would you set on a nation's soveriengty? When should the international community impose laws on other countries?

I would set a limit that allows another country to recognize genocide and let it able to take action against it to help the victims. I believe that the international community should impose laws only when absolutely necassary, and in a way to support victims.

2) What can be done to stop nations that turn against their own people?

Prevent steriotypes and laws against the group before it turns for the worse.

3)How could [Lempkin] turn his moral outrage into action? What could he do?

He could spread the word and make people more aware of things that's happened in history to prevent them from happening again.

4) Without a court to judge the perpetrators, what options did the Armenians have after the genocide?

Armenians could've resorted to violence, which probably wouldn't have been the best option, remember those who died and dealing with what happened, or try to convince whoever they could to try to bring them justice.

Armenian Genocide

Dates:

Mid-1800's- Armenians protested for their rights

1878- Treaty of Berlin gave Armenians more rights, however the sultan never gave them these rights

1894-1896- Hamidian Massacres

1909- Hamidian supporters massacred Armenians to try to give the sultan power again.

Death Toll (Estimated)- ~100 million- 1.5 million deaths

Fact You Should Know-

It began in the 19th century, but there's a law forbidding even the discussion of the genocide.

iWitness Photo Activity 1

Edward Racoubian, born in 1906 in Sivas, Turkey, was departed and heading for Ras-ul-Ain, by walking. On his journey there was very little water provided and at one point they used mud they found in a hole to drink, and they also drank out of the Euphrates River, despite the corpses in it.

“Of a caravan of nearly 10,000 people, there were now only some of us 300 left."

His siblings and aunt had died, but he and his mother managed to get out alive and find refuge with Arab nomads, but his mother ended up dying.

It's obvious from his facial expression that he has seen some things firsthand and may be thinking of some events that may have scarred him for life, mentally and physically. His hands have marks on them, however he doesn't explain events about torture, or the question "What kinds of ways did they use force on people, including yourself?" despite the fact he talks about deaths and seeing corpses.

He may be feeling a bit scared to say certain things, or some of the memories are possibly too painful to bring up.

New York Times Activity Part 2

(a) Killing members of the group;

"Between 500,000 and 800,0000 Armenians had been massacred." (blank- Thousands Protest Armenian Murders cont'd)

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

"They rushed upon the guards who carried the food and the guards beat them back with clubs, hitting hard enough to kill sometimes." (2)

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

"I have visited their encampment and a more pitiable sight cannot be imagined. They are, almost without exception, ragged hungry and sick...they have been on the road with no change of clothes, no chance to bathe,no shelter, and little to eat." (2)

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

"...some of the Armenian women and girls, in considerable numbers have been carried off into captivity by the Kurds." (5)

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group;

"...mothers offer their children and beg you to take them. In fact, the Turks have beeen taking their choice of these children and girls for slaves or worse." (2)

1. Define the following mentalities and explain how they impacted American policy towards Jewish immigration during WWII:

a. Anti-semitis- Hostility against Jews. This impacted Jewish immigration during WWII, since not many Jews could get visas to come over to the U.S.

b. Xenophobia- A fear/disike of people from other countries. This impacted Jewish immigration, because the US wanted to stay out of the war.

c. Isolationism- Unwilling to get invloved with political affairs of other countries. This effected Jewish immigration, because it wasn't publicized as much or as big, so there became a small amount of Jews that would come into the US. Since these events weren't publicized as much of a big deal, the US tried to avoid war.

2. Bolivia was “exceptional” in its immigration policy because:

Bolivia admitted around 30,000 people into the country between 1938-1941. (http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007652)

3. Describe US immigration policy during the time when many Jews were suffering persecution during the Holocaust.

Immigration laws made it harder for immigrants to come to the US, and when the US joined WWII, there became a stop to immigration.

4. How did the State Department respond to the allegations of mass killings coming from Europe? What did they do with information that was passed on to them?

They delayed the information of Nazis attacking Jews from being passed and declined to send it to Stephen Wise, the president of the World Jewish Congress.

5. Who pressured Roosevelt to set up the War Refugee Board, how many people did it save, and when did it begin operations?

American Jews and Roosevelt's Secretary of the Treasurey pressured him to set up the War Refugee Board. It began operations in August 1944, and saved around 200,000 Jews.

US media did not publish everything the Nazis did, and didn't give it the right amount of importance/emphasis.

7. What specific reasons were given for not bombing Auschwitz? Do you agree or disagree with these, and why?

They could only bomb military targets and they couldn't be accurate enough to specifically bomb Auschwitz and the railroad tracks leading there. I don't agree with the reasons, since there should be more to the reason than just these to not bomb it, and even if accuracy would be needed, and I believe that Auschwitz and other camps should've been classified as military targets, since that was one of the places for where plans for extermination were carried out.

8. How did the US response towards Holocaust victims change under the administration of President Harry Truman? Give at least one specific example.

It changed, since he made US immigration laws lmore relaxed when it comes to Jews and Jewish refugees coming from Europe. The US granted around 400,000 visas to immigrants.

6. How did the US Media report on the Holocaust?

Cambodian Genocide

There was a battle for control over the government between the Khmer Rouge and Lon Nol, which lead up to a civil war. However, afterwards Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge tried getting rid of class when he came to power by getting rid of currency, turning the country into an agrarian society. Many people died because of this transition, either by being executed, dying of starvation, overwork,etc. for the sake of a communist utopia. Because of this, at least, 1,200,000 people were killed in this conflict, and, interestingly, it's considered an auto-genocide, since the government tried to kill off any ethnic and minority groups, Buddhist monks, elders, "intellectuals" (people who wore glasses), Lon Nol's government soldiers, and those believed to be associated/have contact with Vietnam (mainly Eastern Khmers).

During this time the US was fighting in the Vietnam War, and because the Vietcong and Vitnamese forces would go there to get supplies, train, and hide, President Nixon authorized bomber raids on Cambodia.

And despite President Carter's attempts to focus on human rights, little was done due to still being in the Cold War.

What can we do to help stop conflict and genocide?

The last conflict I researched was the conflict in the D.R. Congo.

The Hutu perpetrators came here after the Rwandan Genocide, and created the FDLR (Forces Democratique de Liberation du Rwanda), and because of this Rwanda and Uganda were prompted to an invasion, leading to Kabila (who lead the rebellion against the dictator Mobutu) to become President. Kabila declared war on Rwanda and Uganda after he came into power. Around 5 million people have died in this conflict already.

Despite the UN trying to push for peace agreements, there is still ongoing violence, so I believe that the international community, including the US, may have to be a bit more forceful in their approach to get each side to listen to each other. So by not giving any side support, like no one would sell weapons that encourage fighting, no one could fight as easily and peace agreements could be easier to make.

To raise awareness of this conflict, we could mention in our posters a fact about this conflict and use it to comapre to the conflict we're talking about in the poster project.

The Rwandan Genocide

The Rwandan Genocide started with tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi. The Hutu, being the larger part of the population (~84%), seemed to be superior towards the Tutsi, being 15% of the population. But, tension rose higher when they started having more economic differences, and when colonial favoritism was shown, mainly toward the Tutsi by Belgians.

The violence started once they got independance. Hutus got to power and made sure there was opposition to the Tutsi, started killing them, and caused the Tutsi people to flee to Burundi. They took advantage of the army and came into political power, which lead to them attacking the Hutus.

People continued to press tensions further, which casued the Hutus to attack the Tutsis. The genocide lasted one hundred days and nearly one million people died, the largest massacres being at places where poeple would hide for protection.

The international community, including the US, did not do much for the Rwandan Genocide, possibly due to financial reasons, "Somalia Syndrome," fear, etc. However, there are steps being taken to help heal some of the wounds both sides may have, like both groups fill the top government positions, nearly all Hutu refugees returned home, and there are trials bein put into place on those who were the organizers, and some smaller roles, of the genocide.