Genocide/ethnic cleansing (military history)
Genocide and ethnic cleansing are terms that describe extreme forms of violence and persecution motivated by racial or ethnic animosities. Genocide, a term introduced by Raphael Lemkin during World War II, refers to the systematic mass murder of a particular group, while ethnic cleansing involves the expulsion or forced removal of a specific ethnic group through various violent means. Throughout history, numerous communities, including the Armenians, Jews, and Kurds, have suffered from such atrocities, with notable historical instances such as the Roman destruction of Carthage and the Holocaust standing out as stark examples.
The United Nations officially recognized genocide as a crime against humanity in 1946, yet the practice has persisted in various forms around the world, including in Cambodia, Rwanda, and the Balkans during the late 20th century. These events highlight the ongoing relevance and urgency of addressing the impacts of genocide and ethnic cleansing in contemporary society. Understanding these concepts is essential for fostering awareness, promoting justice, and preventing future atrocities against vulnerable populations.
Genocide/ethnic cleansing (military history)
A term coined during World War II (1939–1945) by Raphael Lemkin in Axis Rule in Occupied Europe (1944), genocide denotes racially or ethnically motivated mass murder. Ethnic cleansing, a more recent but related term, refers to the expulsion—through rape, harassment, roundups, murder, police and military violence, or a combination of all of these—of a hated racial or ethnic group. Many groups—including the Armenians, Jews, and Kurds—have been victims of ethnic cleansing for centuries. Genocide is also an ancient occurrence. In 146 b.c.e., the Romans put the city of Carthage to the sword, selling into slavery those who escaped genocide. Perhaps the most infamous example of genocide was the Holocaust, as Nazi Germany’s destruction of European Jewry is known.
Reacting against this horrific episode, the United Nations General Assembly declared genocide a crime in 1946. Nevertheless, genocide and ethnic cleansing have occurred since that time: in Cambodia in 1975, in Rwanda and Burundi in 1972 and 1994, and in the Balkans in the 1990’s.