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TWENTIETH CENTURY WORLD HISTORY Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 1915-1995 PLEASE SEE NOTES ON THE PDF, PAGE 4. LESSONS IN WORLD HISTORY By Alan Rosenfeld, Department of History, The University of California, Irvine Teacher Consultant, Lorraine Gerard, Century High School, Santa Ana Faculty Consultant, Kenneth Pomeranz, Professor of History, The University of California, Irvine Managing Editor, Tova Cooper, Ph.D. The publication of this CD has been made possible largely through funding from GEAR UP Santa Ana. This branch of GEAR UP has made a distinctive contribution to public school education in the U.S. by creating intellectual space within an urban school district for students who otherwise would not have access to the research, scholarship, and teaching represented by this collaboration between the University of California, the Santa Ana Partnership, and the Santa Ana Unified School District. Additional external funding in 2004-2005 has been provided to HOT by the Bank of America Foundation, the Wells Fargo Foundation, and the Pacific Life Foundation. THE UCI CALIFORNIA HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE PROJECT The California History-Social Science Project (CH-SSP) of the University of California, Irvine, is dedicated to working with history teachers in Orange County to develop innovative approaches to engaging students in the study of the past. Founded in 2000, the CH-SSP draws on the resources of the UCI Department of History and works closely with the UCI Department of Education. We believe that the history classroom can be a crucial arena not only for instruction in history but also for the improvement of student literacy and writing skills. Working together with the teachers of Orange County, it is our goal to develop history curricula that will convince students that history matters. HUMANITIES OUT THERE Humanities Out There was founded in 1997 as an educational partnership between the School of Humanities at the University of California, Irvine and the Santa Ana Unified School District. HOT runs workshops in humanities classrooms in Santa Ana schools. Advanced graduate students in history and literature design curricular units in collaboration with host teachers, and conduct workshops that engage UCI undergraduates in classroom work. In the area of history, HOT works closely with the UCI History-Social Science Project in order to improve student literacy and writing skills in the history classroom, and to integrate the teaching of history, literature, and writing across the humanities. The K-12 classroom becomes a laboratory for developing innovative units that adapt university materials to the real needs and interests of California schools. By involving scholars, teachers, students, and staff from several institutions in collaborative teaching and research, we aim to transform educational practices, expectations, and horizons for all participants. THE SANTA ANA PARTNERSHIP The Santa Ana Partnership was formed in 1983 as part of the Student and Teacher Educational Partnership (STEP) initiative at UC Irvine. Today it has evolved into a multi-faceted collaborative that brings institutions and organizations together in the greater Santa Ana area to advance the educational achievement of all students, and to help them enter and complete college. Co-directed at UC Irvine by the Center for Educational Partnerships, the collaborative is also strongly supported by Santa Ana College, the Santa Ana Unified School District, California State University, Fullerton and a number of community based organizations. Beginning in 2003-2004, HOT has contributed to the academic mission of the Santa Ana Partnership by placing its workshops in GEAR UP schools. This unit on Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century reflects the innovative collaboration among these institutions and programs. CONTENT COUNTS: A SPECIAL PROJECT OF THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES This is one in a series of publications under the series title Content Counts: Reading and Writing Across the Humanities, supported by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Content Counts units are designed by and for educators committed to promoting a deep, content-rich and knowledge-driven literacy in language arts and social studies classrooms. The units provide examples of “content reading”—primary and secondary sources, as well as charts, data, and visual documents—designed to supplement and integrate the study of history and literature. A publication of Humanities Out There and the Santa Ana Partnership (including UCI’s Center for Educational Partnerships, Santa Ana College, and the Santa Ana Unified School District). Copyright 2005 The Regents of the University of California WORLD HISTORY: 1915-1995 Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century UNIT INTRODUCTION FOR TEACHERS This unit of the H.O.T. World History series introduces students to the evils of genocide through an examination of five monstrous cases in world history. In addition to the Armenian Genocide (Standard 10.5.5) and the Jewish Holocaust (Standard 10.8.5), which are mentioned explicitly in the California State Content Standards for tenth grade World History, we also study the Nazi-led extermination of the Sinti and Roma, the Serbian “ethnic cleansing” of Bosnian Muslims in 1994, and the mass-slaughter of ethnic Tutsis at the hands of Hutu extremists in Rwanda in 1994. Although the unit does not examine additional instances of genocide in the Ukraine (1932), Cambodia (1975), and Guatemala (1982), it does suggest additional resources on these topics for teachers who wish to address them. By having students investigate and contemplate the recurrence of genocide in various geographical regions over an eighty-year duration, this unit also seeks to develop students’ historical analysis skills, encouraging them to “compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned” (California State Standards, Chronological and Spatial Thinking Skill I). Furthermore, this unit responds to Assembly Bill 1273, passed by the California State Legislature in 1985, which states that “the State Department of Education shall develop a model curriculum for use by school districts maintaining grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to be incorporated into existing history or social studies courses offered by these districts relating to the issue of genocide.” Of course, the greater goal is to educate our students regarding the dangers of racial, religious, and ethnic tensions, prejudices, and bigotry, helping to foster in them a greater appreciation for the values of tolerance and crosscultural understanding. Through a close examination of primary sources—such as photographs, political propaganda posters, government documents, firsthand participant-observer accounts, and survivor testimonies—we hope to provide our students with a deeper understanding of the evils of genocide as it has been experienced at the individual, familial, and community levels. Themes addressed in this unit include ethnic and religious prejudice, the severity of daily life for refugees, the struggle for survival for prisoners in segregated ghettos and concentration camps, techniques of organization developed for the implementation of mass extermination, the difficult question of how to assign responsibility and blame, and the painful memories of genocide survivors. Although not addressed explicitly in the lesson material, this unit is sustained by the belief that we have much to gain by placing historical occurrences of genocide under a comparative gaze, not for the purposes of ordering or ranking their severity or significance, but for helping students to understand that genocide is a recurrent phenomenon that must be guarded against with the utmost dedication and vigilance. Rather than offering comprehensive coverage of each of the pertinent historical events under examination—which would not be feasible in such a limited space—the objective here is to engage our students’ natural thirst for learning by introducing to them the relevant terms and concepts and the central areas of historical discussion and debate. All of the materials contained in this unit are user-friendly, ready to be photocopied immediately and distributed to students without any additional preparation required on your part. We have also included valuable lists of books, films, and internet resources that provide either practical background information or materials that can be adapted easily for use in your high-school classroom. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 3 CALIFORNIA HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE STANDARDS ADDRESSED IN THIS UNIT Skills: Grades Nine through Twelve Chronological and Spatial Thinking Skills Students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned. Students use a variety of maps and documents to interpret human movement, including major patterns of domestic and international migration, changing environmental preferences and settlement patterns, the frictions that develop between population groups, and the diffusion of ideas, technological innovations, and goods. Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View Skills Students distinguish valid arguments from fallacious arguments in historical interpretations. Students identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations. Students evaluate major debates among historians concerning alternative interpretations of the past, including an analysis of authors’ use of evidence and the distinctions between sound generalizations and misleading oversimplifications. Historical Interpretation Skills Students show the connections, causal and otherwise, between particular historical events and larger social, economic, and political trends and developments. Students recognize the complexity of historical causes and effects, including the limitations on determining cause and effect. Students interpret past events and issues within the context in which an event unfolded rather than solely in terms of present-day norms and values. Students understand the meaning, implication, and impact of historical events and recognize that events could have taken other directions. NOTES ON THE PDF: 1) Please note that in this pdf document the page numbers are two off from the printed curriculum. For example, page 2 in the printed curriculum is now page 4 in this pdf document. 2) We apologize if some of the hyperlinks are no longer accurate. They were correct at the time of printing. 3) Full-page versions of the images in this unit—some in color—can be found at the back of this pdf. 4) You can easily navigate through the different parts of this document by using the “Bookmark” tab on the left side of your Acrobat window. 4 Lessons in World History Content Standards: Tenth Grade 10.5 Students analyze the causes and course of the First World War 10.5.1 Analyze the arguments for entering into war presented by leaders from all sides of the Great War and the role of political and economic rivalries, ethnic and ideological conflicts, domestic discontent and disorder, and propaganda and nationalism in mobilizing the civilian population in support of “total war.” 10.5.4 Understand the nature of war and its human costs (military and civilian) on all sides of the conflict, including how colonial peoples contributed to the war effort. 10.5.5 Discuss human rights violations and genocide, including the Ottoman government’s actions against Armenian citizens. 10.7 Students analyze the rise of totalitarian governments after World War I 10.7.3 Analyze the rise, aggression, and human costs of totalitarian regimes (Fascist and Communist) in Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union. 10.8 Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II 10.8.5 Analyze the Nazi policy of pursuing racial purity, especially against the European Jews; its transformation into the Final Solution; and the Holocaust that resulted in the murder of six million Jewish civilians. 10.8.6 Discuss the human costs of the war, with particular attention to the civilian and military losses in Russia, Germany, Britain, the United States, China, and Japan. 10.9 Students analyze the international developments in the post-World World War II world 10.9.6 Understand how the forces of nationalism developed in the Middle East, how the Holocaust affected world opinion regarding the need for a Jewish state, and the significance and effects of the location and establishment of Israel on world affairs. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 5 BIBLIOGRAPHY Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century Books on the Armenian Genocide Auron, Yair. The Banality of Indifference: Zionism and the Armenian Genocide. New Brunswick and London: Transaction Publishers, 2000. An Israeli scholar, Auron places the Jewish Holocaust in a comparative context through his study of the Armenian genocide, another twentieth-century example of ethnic cleansing. In particular, Auron examines the “attitudes of the Jewish community in Palestine and of the Zionist leadership toward the massacres.” Dadrian, Vahakn. The History of the Armenian Genocide: Ethnic Conflict from the Balkans to Anatolia to the Caucasus. New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2003. Dadrian, a leading scholar on the Armenian Genocide, offers a thorough academic analysis of the genocide from a variety of perspectives. Her study, which includes an investigation of archival materials in Armenian, Turkish, German, English, and French, will prove to be a fascinating resource for teachers with a genuine interest in expanding their knowledge of the Armenian Genocide. Libaridian, Gerard. A Crime of Silence: The Armenian Genocide. London: Zed Books, 1985. This book contains a collection of scholarly essays presented at a special convocation of the Permanent People’s Tribunal on the Genocide of the Armenians. The Tribunal’s meeting coincided with the seventieth anniversary of the start of the genocide (in 1915) and was attended by a collection of prestigious jurists, theologians, and academics from across the globe, including three former Nobel Prize winners. Miller, Donald E. Survivors: An Oral History of the Armenian Genocide. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993. Donald Miller and his wife, Lorna Touryan Miller (who co-authored the book, and is the daughter of survivors of the genocide), provide an oral history that is the culmination of personal interviews conducted with one hundred Armenian Genocide survivors, many of whom eventually immigrated to the United States and settled in southern California. Books on the Jewish Holocaust (including Sinti and Roma) Burleigh, Michael and Wolfgang Wipperman. The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991. This well-researched study situates a variety of Nazi-era primarysource documents—including photographs, posters, ministerial and personal correspondence, medical records, and legal codes—in historical context, in an effort to evaluate the extent to which the Third Reich can be conceptualized as a racial state. What is particularly valuable about this text is its discussion of the Nazi persecution of homosexuals and the Sinti and Roma alongside its discussion of the mass extermination of European Jewry. Frank, Anne. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. New York: Random House, 1995. First published in 1947, this authentic diary of a teenage Jewish girl living in hiding during the Nazi occupation of her native Amsterdam provides a vivid image of the horrors of genocide experienced on a personal level through the eyes of an optimistic youth. Kaplan, Marion. Beyond Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Rather than rushing forward to a discussion of the death camps and the Holocaust, Kaplan examines the gradual erosion of Jewish public life in Nazi-era Germany, including strategies of accommodation, survival, and resistance among Jewish Germans and their non-Jewish relatives, friends, and neighbors. 6 Lessons in World History Kluger, Ruth. Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered. New York: The Feminist Press, 2001. Kluger recounts her firsthand experiences of the Holocaust as a young prisoner in a number of Nazi death camps, including Auschwitz-Birkenau. She also describes her life after liberation, in which she settled briefly in Germany before immigrating to the United States. Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz: The Nazi Assault on Humanity. New York: Touchstone, 1996. First published in 1958 under the Italian title, Se questo é un huomo (If This is a Man), Levi’s autobiographical piece provides a disturbingly vivid portrayal of the banality and senselessness of everyday life in the Nazi death camps. Lewin, Rhoda, ed. Witness to the Holocaust: An Oral History. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1990. This text contains a collection of brief interview excerpts from over forty different firsthand witnesses to the Holocaust, and is divided into three categories: survivors of concentration camps, survivors who were not in concentration camps, and American liberators. Books on the Ethnic Cleansing of Bosnia Gallagher, Tom. The Balkans After the Cold War: From Tyranny to Tragedy. London and New York: Routledge, 2003. Gallagher traces the course of ethnic strife in the former Yugoslavia following the collapse of eastern-bloc Communism in 1989, highlighting the failure of Western foreign policy to stem the rising tide of violence in the region. Gutman, Roy. A Witness to Genocide: The 1993 Pulitzer Prize-winning Dispatches on the “Ethnic Cleansing” of Bosnia. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1993. This is a compilation of field reports written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who witnessed the Serb-led ethnic cleansing of Bosnia. O’Shea, Brendan. Crisis at Bihac: Bosnia’s Bloody Battlefield, including the Carter Peace Initiative, Croatia Reclaims Western Slavonia, and the Fall of the Krajina Serbs. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton, 1998. O’Shea chronicles the twists and turns of strategic alliances among Serb and Bosnian armed forces during a siege on the Bihac Pocket in 1994-1995. He explains the historical significance of the Bihac Pocket, which is situated at the border of the old (Muslim) Ottoman and (Christian) Habsburg Empires, and became embroiled in international turmoil once again during the war in Bosnia. Rogel, Carole. The Breakup of Yugoslavia and the War in Bosnia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998. This text provides historical background on the Balkan region in general, as well as on the formation and disintegration of Yugoslavia. Additional resources include a chronology of events, a series of brief biographies of the key players involved in the war in Bosnia-Hercegovina, a collection of primarysource documents, and a useful annotated bibliography. This book is perfect for teachers looking to expand their knowledge on the subject of the breakup of Yugoslavia and the development of national consciousness (and conflict) in the Balkan region. Sarhandi, Daoud. Evil Doesn’t Live Here: Posters from the Bosnian War. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2001. This text contains a vast assortment of fascinating, full-colored political posters from the Bosnian War. Teachers may wish to analyze the critical social commentary in some of the posters with their students as a means of teaching students to hone their image-analysis skills. Books on the Rwandan Genocide African Rights. Rwanda: Death, Despair and Defiance. London: African Rights, 1994. Published by a human rights organization based in the United Kingdom, this text provides a detailed (700-page account) of the Hutu-led extermination of ethnic Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994, and includes a wealth of interviews with witnesses and survivors. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 7 Longman, Timothy. Proxy Targets: Civilians in the Burundi War. New York: Human Rights Watch, 1998. Published by the New York based international Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org), Proxy Targets represents the organization’s efforts to expose the horrors of the ethnic conflict in Rwanda and Burundi and to educate the public on the evils of genocide. In addition to short excerpts from interviews with victims and witnesses, the text provides a historical overview of ethnic tensions in the region. Prunier, Gérard. The Rwanda Crisis: A History of Genocide. London: Hurst & Company, 1998. Written by a journalist and specialist on Uganda, this book provides a comprehensive history of Rwandan society from the early European colonial period though the genocide of 1994. Salem, Richard. Witness to Genocide: The Children of Rwanda. Drawings by Child Survivors of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. New York: Friendship Press, 2000. This book is unusually interesting in a number of respects. Not only does it include an engaging foreword written by former First Lady and current Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, but the book also provides a collection of colored sketches created by child survivors of the Rwandan genocide. These moving drawings—two of which are featured in this unit—provide a unique resource for attempts to engage students by personalizing the horrors of genocide. Umutesi, Marie Béatrice. Surviving the Slaughter: the Ordeal of a Rwandan Refugee in Zaire. Trans. Julia Emerson. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2004. Umutesi, a member of the educated, postcolonial Rwandan intellectual elite, provides a history of the Hutu-Tutsi ethnic conflict from the 1960s through the horrors of the 1990s, including a firsthand account of her experiences living in a crowded refugee camp in Zaire. Not only does this book provide an account of the ethnic violence from a female perspective, but it also reveals how the Rwandan genocide ruined the lives of Hutus and Tutsis alike. Films The Armenian Genocide: Annihilation of the Armenian Population of the Ottoman Empire, 1915-1923. Produced for the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission of the State of California, this 25-minute documentary is designed to present the historical context surrounding the Armenian Genocide as well as stimulate student discussions about racism and the threat of genocide in the present. This film and others are available through the Armenian Film Foundation (http://armenianfilm.org). Genocide. 1983. Presented by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and re-released on DVD in 2002, this documentary film—narrated by Elizabeth Taylor and Orson Welles—focuses on the fate of the millions of European Jews who fell victim to Hitler’s Final Solution during the Second World War. Genocide in the First Half of the 20th Century. 2002. The first half of a two-part documentary series, this film covers the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot, the 1923 Rosewood Massacre, Stalin’s forced famine in the Ukraine, the Japanese Rape of Nanking, and the Holocaust. Genocide: the Horror Continues. 2002. The second half of the aforementioned series, this film examines more recent examples of genocide in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Burundi and Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, Indonesia and East Timor, and Chechnya. The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century. 1996. This eight-part KCET/BBC documentary series examines a variety of themes related to the First World War, including a discussion of the Armenian genocide in Episode 4, “Slaughter.” Hotel Rwanda. 2004. This critically acclaimed historical drama starring Don Cheadle was nominated for three Academy Awards in 2005. Set in the midst of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, this film provides an emotionally powerful confrontation with one of the most monstrous events of recent history. 8 Lessons in World History Liberation. 1994. Containing narrations from stars such as Whoopi Goldberg, Ben Kingsley, and Patrick Stewart, this documentary is the companion piece to the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Genocide, examining the end of the war and the fate of concentration-camp prisoners after the moment of liberation. Memory of the Camps. 1985. This documentary film presents archival footage of the Nazi death camps taken by British and American photographers in 1945, including scenes of the gas chambers, crematoria, medical experimentation labs, and emaciated survivors. Night and Fog. 2003. This classic piece of French cinema was first released as a major motion picture in 1955 under the title Nuit et brouillard. The film combines footage of the abandoned Nazi death camps ten years after liberation with disquieting wartime images from the battlefront. Schindler’s List. 1993. This Hollywood blockbuster directed by Steven Spielberg won seven Academy Awards in 1994, including Best Picture and Best Director. Based on the true story of a (non-Jewish) German industrialist who saved more than 1,000 of his Jewish factory laborers from the horrors of Auschwitz, Schindler’s List is a gut-wrenching movie of real-life drama. The Triumph of Evil. 1999. A BBC/Frontline production that examines the extermination of ethnic Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994 and focuses on the delayed responses of Britain, France, the United States, and the United Nations. Yugoslavia: The Death of a Nation. 1996. Originally shown on the Discovery Channel in 1995, this sixhour award-winning documentary provides live footage of the war in the former Yugoslavia as well as interviews with some of the leading players. Electronic Resources on the Armenian Genocide Armenian National Institute www.armenian-genocide.org/ The Armenian National Institute, headquartered in Washington DC, provides a variety of pedagogical resources on its website, including lists of suggested readings and instructional videos, detailed maps of the Armenian Genocide, collections of historical photos and primary-source documents, and firsthand accounts from survivors. Armenian Genocide www.armeniangenocide.com In addition to active online forums in which members discuss issues surrounding the history and memory of the Armenian Genocide, this website also contains a collection of primary-source documents from the period between 1915 and 1923. Peace Pledge Union: “Genocide: Armenia 1915” www.ppu.org.uk/genocide/g_armenia.html An independent organization based in the United Kingdom, the Peace Pledge Union was initially founded in 1934 by Dick Sheppard, a priest of the Church of England, in response to the Nazi seizure of power in Germany. The organization’s website provides educational resources on the history of eight different cases of genocide: Namibia (1904), Armenia (1915-23), the Ukraine (1932), the Holocaust (1939-45), Cambodia (1945), Guatemala (1982), Rwanda (1994), and Bosnia (1995). The site features a series of topical talking points (on prejudice, name calling, obeying orders, etc.) that provide excellent material for stimulating class discussions and debates. The section on the Armenian genocide includes general historical background (from the seventh century B.C. forwards), a detailed timeline of the genocide, and a collection of eyewitness accounts. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 9 Electronic Resources on the Holocaust The Anne Frank Center www.annefrank.com An international, not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting religious and ethnic tolerance, the Anne Frank Center strives to “help young people and communities explore and challenge discrimination, intolerance, and bias-related violence in a positive and constructive way.” Its website contains a special section designed for teachers, which includes a list of recommended readings and sample lessons focused on the life of Anne Frank and the history of the Holocaust. The Museum of Tolerance www.museumoftolerance.com Located in Los Angeles, California and affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Museum of Tolerance strives to educate the public on the history of the Holocaust, as well as on general issues of racism and bigotry in the United States. Its website contains a variety of online resources for educators, including maps, photographs, a glossary of key terms, timelines, and bibliographies. Paul Halsall’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html Paul Halsall, a professor of History at Fordham University in New York, has amassed an enormous collection of primary-source documents, including materials on the Holocaust. After you click on the link titled “Holocaust” (located on the toolbar on the left side of the page), you will find an abundance of useful materials covering topics such as anti-Semitism, the Final Solution, the Roma, homosexuals, and pre- and post-Holocaust genocides. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum www.ushmm.org The online version of the internationally acclaimed Holocaust Memorial Museum located in our nation’s capital, this site should be the launching point for any teacher searching for pedagogical aids related to teaching the Holocaust. The museum provides an enormous digital photo archive, collections of testimony from Holocaust survivors, and a series of professional quality exhibitions covering Kristallnacht, the life of Anne Frank, the Rwandan genocide, the recent crisis in Darfur, Sudan, the Nazi persecution of homosexuals, and additional topics. The site also contains a section designed specifically for educators (www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/), with teaching materials, model lesson plans, and online teaching workshops. Peace Pledge Union: “Talking about Genocide: the Holocaust” www.ppu.org.uk/genocide/g_holocaust.html Described above in the section on electronic resources about the Armenian Genocide, this site also features a section on the Holocaust, including a detailed timeline, a collection of firsthand accounts from survivors, and a series of historical case studies. Electronic Resources on the Genocide of the Sinti and Roma Sinti and Roma on the Holocaust Teacher Resource Center www.holocaust-trc.org/sinti.htm This site provides information on the history of the Sinti and Roma under Nazi rule, the text of a pamphlet originally published by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and links to a series of primary-source documents. 10 Lessons in World History Electronic Resources on the Rwandan Genocide Human Rights Watch: “Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda” www.hrw.org/reports/1999/rwanda Human Rights Watch, an international organization based in New York, provides an abundance of materials related to the Rwandan Genocide on its website. Teachers will find an extensive online study that relies on oral testimony and written documentation, including previously unpublished documents from diplomats and UN staff. The site presents both an in-depth analysis of the implementation of the genocide and of the international community’s failure to respond in a timely manner. Yale University’s Genocide Studies Program: “Rwandan Genocide Project” www.yale.edu/gsp/rwanda In addition to offering extensive coverage of the Holocaust and the Cambodian Genocide under the Khmer Rouge, this website—created by the Yale Center for International and Area Studies—provides full-text links to scholarly essays and articles about the Rwandan Genocide, as well as satellite maps of Rwanda and databases of perpetrators and victims. Peace Pledge Union: “Genocide: Rwanda (1994)” www.ppu.org.uk/genocide/g_rwanda.html Described above in the section on electronic resources about the Armenian Genocide, this site also features a section on the Rwandan Genocide, which includes general historical background (from the colonial period forward) and a collection of eyewitness accounts. United Nations’ International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda www.ictr.org/default.htm The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda was the first international court to obtain a judgment on the crime of genocide. Its website contains newsletters, legal documents, court case records, and statements of judgments pertaining to the prosecution of the perpetrators of the Rwandan Genocide. Electronic Resources on the Bosnian Genocide Peace Pledge Union: “Genocide: Bosnia (1995)” www.ppu.org.uk/genocide/g_bosnia.html Described above in the section on electronic resources about the Armenian Genocide, this website has a section on the Bosnian Genocide that includes general historical background, a chronology of the genocide, and a collection of eyewitness accounts. Center for Balkan Development www.friendsofbosnia.org This website of an organization dedicated to rebuilding the former Yugoslavia provides, among other resources, a documentary photography/text exhibit on the Bosnian Genocide from the perspective of survivors, as well as an exhibit of art made by Bosnians in 1992. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 11 KEY TERMS Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century Anti-Semitism: hatred, prejudice, and discrimination directed towards Jews or Judaism. Since the term “Semitic” also refers to a broader collection of ethnic and national groups originating in the Middle East, including the ancient Babylonians, Phoenicians, and modern-day Arabs, “anti-Semitic” can convey a more wide-ranging meaning. Indeed, in an effort to underscore Jews’ supposed “Other-ness,” the Nazis’ anti-Semitic propaganda of the 1930s and 1940s often depicted European Jews as having close racial affinities with Egyptians, Arabs, and Turks. Aryan: a term used by the Nazis to describe their mythic “master race” of Nordic “supermen,” typically characterized by their healthy physiques, fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. German citizens of Jewish and Polish descent were characterized as non-Aryan “sub-humans,” deemed racially unfit for membership in the Nazi Volksgemeinschaft (ethnic community). Historically, however, the term Aryan referred to an ancient Indo-Iranian ethnic group that inhabited the territory that now constitutes Iran, Afghanistan, and northern India. In the Nazi lexicon, the Nordic Aryan was viewed as the diametrical opposite of the Semitic Jew. In Nazi Germany, numerous sites, including businesses, public baths, and park benches, were marked “Aryans only” as a means of segregating Jewish Germans from the Volksgemeinschaft. Concentration Camp: a particularly harsh and often large-scale camp or penal institution created to house political prisoners, enemy aliens, and prisoners of war. The term is often associated with the Nazis, who created a vast network of Konzentrationslager (concentration camps) across Germany and Eastern Europe that housed so-called Volksfeinde, enemies of the people. In addition to antiNazi political dissenters, these camps held large numbers of Jews, “Gypsies” (Sinti and Roma), and homosexuals even before the start of the Second World War. By 1942 at the latest, certain concentration camps had been turned into “death camps,” equipped with the technological and organizational facilities to carry out mass extermination and genocide. Deportee: a person who has been ordered to leave his or her homeland by government authorities or an occupying power. In this particular unit, we are examining cases in which large-scale deportation was carried out as a means of “ethnic cleansing” rather than as punishment for an actual crime. Ethnic Cleansing: a euphemism used to describe the state-sponsored extermination of Bosnian Muslims at the hands of Serbian armed forces in the early 1990s. Bosnians were driven from their homes, terrorized, raped, forced into concentration camps, and (often) murdered. The United Nations imposed sanctions on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and established a war crimes tribunal in response to the killings. Exterminate: to remove or eliminate something completely by killing it at its roots or source. Since the term “exterminate” is commonly used to refer to the elimination of insects, pests, or vermin, it captures the inhumanity involved in genocide. Ausrotten, the German word for “exterminate,” is used to describe the removal (or ripping out) of weeds from a garden and is also closely related to one of the German words for genocide: Ausrottung. Forced Labor: a system of production in which people are coerced into performing certain work tasks and activities against their will, often without any form of wages or compensation. For the purpose of this unit, it is important for students to understand that forced labor was crucial to the concentration camp system of the Nazis, regardless of the degree of production. That is to say, forced labor also served the desired function of simultaneously humiliating and disciplining prisoners. 12 Lessons in World History Gas Chamber: an infamous type of facility constructed by the Nazi leadership during the Second World War in order to expedite the extermination of concentration camp prisoners, including millions of European Jews and large numbers of Sinti and Roma. The Nazis initially designed gas chambers in psychiatric hospitals at the outset of the war in order to “liberate” beds for fallen soldiers by eliminating ‘hereditarily ill’ (non-Jewish) patients from the nation’s hospital wards. The gas chambers were designed to look like communal showers (complete with fake shower heads) and prisoners were asked to undress and carry a bar of soap with them, in an effort to pacify the frightened victims into believing that they were actually about to cleanse themselves. However, after the chamber was sealed, a lethal gas was released, which was potent enough to kill off the prisoners within a few minutes. Genocide: the systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group. In this unit, we introduce the key term by isolating the word’s two components, “geno-” (related to one’s genes or biological make-up) and “-cide” (killing). Similarly, one of the German terms for genocide—Völkermord—is comprised of two roots corresponding to people or ethnic groups (Völker) and murder (Mord). (The United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide describes genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”) Massacre: to kill a large number of people violently, indiscriminately, and without due cause. The term is cited regularly in connection with acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing, particularly the Armenian genocide of 1915 at the hands of the Turks. Propaganda: information or ideas—often exaggerated or presenting only one side of an issue—that are spread to promote a certain cause or shape public opinion in a certain way. Once the Nazi party came to power in Germany, it established systematic control over the national media (including radio, cinema, and publishing houses) as part of a coordinated effort to indoctrinate the German public with a Nazi worldview. This was accomplished by a tactical bombardment of propaganda targeting Communists, Jews, Sinti and Roma, and homosexuals (among others) as enemies of the state. Refugee Camp: a temporary shelter or area of settlement created for people displaced due to an ongoing war or as a result of ethnic or religious conflict. In this particular unit, we focus on camps created to house refugees who were evicted from their homelands due to ethnic or religious prejudice. Secede: to withdraw formally from membership in a federation, association, or nation-state. Although students might be more familiar with the idea of secession in the context of the American Civil War, in this unit we discuss secession in the context of the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s and the subsequent mass slaughter of Bosnian Muslims. After the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, the culturally diverse nation of Yugoslavia began to fracture along ethnic lines. In June of 1991 the regions of Macedonia, Slovenia and Croatia announced their independence, seceding from Serbdominated Yugoslavia. By the time the international community recognized the independence of a fourth (Bosnian) Republic in 1992, a civil war had already erupted in the former Yugoslavia, with the principle locus of conflict taking place between Croats and Serbs. It was during this conflict that the genocide of Bosnian Muslims took place. Yugoslavia’s remaining two republics eventually became the nation of Serbia and Montenegro. Sinti and Roma: the politically-correct term used to describe the ethnic group commonly known in English as “Gypsies” and in German as “Zigeuner.” Although the English term “Gypsy” is a corruption of the word “Egyptian,” anthropologists believe that the ancestors of the migratory Sinti and Roma originated in India rather than North Africa. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 13 TEACHER’S GUIDE AND ANSWER KEY PART ONE: Introduction The unit begins with a brief language exercise designed to introduce students to the concept of genocide by examining its etymological roots. We hope to expand our students’ vocabulary while developing their ability to identify the root components of meaning in an unknown word. In this exercise, students are confronted with eight different words (including “genocide,” 14 Lessons in World History containing the suffix “-cide”) and are asked to draw lines between the words and their corresponding meanings before inducing the meaning of the ending “-cide.” After completing the exercise, the students should know a few new academic terms and should understand that the suffix “-cide” means to kill or destroy. Finally, the students are asked to speculate on the mean- ing of the prefix “geno-” before being provided with the definition of the complete word. The accompanying passage and photograph are meant to establish a mood of serious investigation and solemn introspection. STUDENT WORKSHEETS PART ONE: Introduction The English language has many words to describe different types of killing. ACTIVITY Draw a line for the term on the left to its correct meaning on the right: Fratricide killing another person Homicide killing yourself Infanticide killing an insect or pest Matricide killing your brother Pesticide killing a baby Suicide killing your father Patricide killing your mother Regicide killing a king GENOCIDE • What is the meaning of the suffix, “-cide”? • What is the meaning of the prefix, “geno”? Hint: think of words like gene, genetics, and genome Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 15 USHMM IMAGE 1: Mass grave of victims of genocide at the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp What is genocide? Genocide is one of the worst events imaginable in human history, but the world has witnessed it several times in the last 100 years. Genocide is fueled by fear, hatred, racism, and violence. It is often organized by political leaders and carried out against ethnic or religious minorities. Here is an official definition: Genocide = The systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group. Genocide is one of the most despicable legacies of human history, but it nevertheless still continues today. In this unit, we will study five instances of genocide in human history, including two that took place within your lifetime. Glossary legacy: something handed down to us from someone in the past. 16 Lessons in World History TEACHER’S GUIDE AND ANSWER KEY PART TWO: The Armenian Genocide The Armenian Genocide provides the launching point for our study of genocide. The first photograph in this unit shows a single Armenian shepherd posing with the national landmark of Mt. Ararat in the background. This picture presents an image of a rural and pastoral lifestyle, and the accompanying questions encourage students to imagine everyday existence in the Caucasus region in the early-twentieth century, before the outbreak of the First World War and the ensuing slaughter of the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire. In response to the question that asks students how the man’s life might be different from theirs, they might mention technological deficiencies, including the absence of computers, the internet, and in all likelihood, automobiles, telephones, and electricity in this man’s life. Nevertheless, students might note similarities in lifestyle, including work responsibilities, family life, daily meals, festivals and the consumption of alcohol, and religious practices (Armenians are Christians, like many of the students who will be using this material). Not all Armenians were shepherds, though; you can explain to students that before the Genocide, many Armenians worked as professionals and businesspeople, and that their financial success was one of the reasons for their persecution. As a Christian minority, Armenians were also perceived by Turkish nationalists (the Young Turks) as a threat to the creation of a homogenous Turkish state. In addition to the basic purpose of helping students unfamiliar with Armenia to conceptualize its geographic position, the map activity included in this section has two goals closely aligned with the California State Standards. First, by identifying the historical location of Armenia before tracing the flow of refugees across the Ottoman Empire (into what are now Syria and Iraq), students practice “us[ing] a variety of maps and documents to interpret human movement, including major patterns of domestic and international migration” (Chronological and Spatial Thinking Skill). Furthermore, by asking students to compare the area covered by historic Armenia with early-twentieth-century Armenia, and teaching them that the nation of Armenia was not a self-governing political entity at the time of the First World War, we hope to make students aware of “the role of political and economic rivalries, ethnic and ideological conflicts, domestic discontent and disorder, and propaganda and nationalism in mobilizing the civilian population in support of “total war” (Content Standard 10.5.1). Indeed, the Armenian Genocide can be seen as a particularly heinous by-product of an emergent Turkish nationalism that viewed the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire as an alien— and potentially treacherous—element. Lacking a nation-state of their own, the inhabitants of the Armenian homeland were situated at the crossroads between two massive geopolitical entities that found themselves on opposite sides of the trenches during the Great War: the Czarist Russian Empire and the Turkish-dominated Ottoman Empire. When the war broke out, Armenians could either take up arms against their brethren residing in the enemy empire or risk being seen as disloyal subjects by the ruling powers of their own empire. Turkish authorities soon began threatening and persecuting Armenian communities scattered across the Ottoman Empire. The next image (#5) and accompanying questions are designed to prompt the students to contemplate the employment of public executions, a practice noticeably absent in the United States and other democratic nations today. As shown in this photo, Ottoman authorities rounded up suspected Armenian dissenters for public executions during the First World War. The event shown in this photo took place in the Ottoman imperial capital of Constantinople (now Istanbul), far removed from the Armenian homeland. In many imperial societies, public executions have been carried out as an overt demonstration of the power of the monarch and the political authorities. The act is meant to instill a sense of fear Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 17 into the populace and to reinstitute conformity to political hierarchies and unquestioned obedience to the sovereign. This is noticeably different from modern democracies, which place a greater emphasis on individual liberties and the enforcement of justice. When executions do occur—although many citizens of modern democracies reject execution entirely—their purpose is generally understood to be the protection of society as a whole through the removal of dangerous or deviant persons. There is no strategic need to make the executions public, since it is the result of the execution rather than the graphic display that is considered important. Of course, decisions to grant certain government officials and victims’ family members permission to view an execution are made for quite different reasons in modern democratic societies; this practice is certainly not carried out for the purpose of frightening observers into submitting to state power. The next activity asks students to imagine and grapple with the dilemma that faced the Armenian people following the outbreak of the First World War. Since Armenian communities were divided evenly between the warring Russian and Ottoman empires, Armenians were left with an unpleasant choice: if they joined the imperial army, they would have to fight against their fellow Armenians; if they refused to join, they could be imprisoned or even killed as traitors to their empire. This question can be personalized for our students by asking those students with family members living abroad (whether they are in Mexico, Vietnam, South Korea, Iran, etc.) to imagine what 18 Lessons in World History they would do if war broke out between the United States and that country. What would they do if they were drafted into the American armed forces? Would they join and risk the possibility of fighting against family members living in the foreign country, or would they attempt to find a different solution? This initial question could serve as a launching point to begin a broader discussion: where do loyalties to the state begin and loyalties to one’s family end (or vice versa)? Is one expected to prioritize one over the other on every occasion, or does the correct course of action depend on the details of each particular situation? The next informational blurb and set of follow-up questions are designed to help gender the horrors of genocide by encouraging the students to contemplate the ways in which the experiences of men and women might have been different. In discussing the questions, you can note that it was Armenian men who faced conscription into the Ottoman armed forces and Armenian men who served as the principal targets of public execution. On the other hand, Armenian women typically bore the burden of caring for and protecting their children on the refugee trail while under constant threat of sexual predation or rape at the hands of Turkish soldiers. Additionally, the Christian wives of fallen Armenian soldiers were sometimes forced to marry (Turkish) Muslim men who were often considerably older than they were. Although students might wish to argue over whether men or women had an “easier” time of it, the important point to drive home is that men and women often experienced the horrors of genocide in remarkably different ways. The next passage in this section is followed by a question that asks students whether one’s obligation to “follow orders” could serve as a justifiable defense in cases of genocide. This view, voiced often by ex-Nazi middlemen during the postwar War Crimes Tribunals, will be explored again later in the unit. You can point out to students that in order to answer the preceding question, one needs to examine instances of dissent to determine how those who refused to carry out such orders were punished. If the perpetrators had the possibility of opting out of assignments but elected not to do so, such a defense would be weakened considerably. The final activity in this section of the unit asks students to analyze a primary source in the form of an official telegram sent by the U.S. Department of State, reprimanding the Ottoman government for “crimes of Turkey against humanity and civilization.” The question of what type of offense constitutes a crime against humanity was also discussed in the H.O.T World History unit entitled The Consequences of World War II: Japan and Germany, which contained an exercise that could be adapted for use here (exercise is on the next page). Although there are no correct answers to the question posed in this activity, students might mention torture, rape, mutilation, cannibalism, and attacks on children as examples of criminal acts that they feel should be codified formally as international war crimes. WHAT IS A “WAR CRIME”? Many Germans and Japanese were tried for war crimes after World War II, including “Crimes Against Humanity.” But how do we decide if a soldier has committed a war crime, or has just performed his duty? Here are some examples of “Crimes Against Humanity”: • Murder • Extermination • Enslavement • Persecution on racial grounds Is there anything else you would add to the list? Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 19 STUDENT WORKSHEETS PART TWO: The Armenian Genocide Look at the Armenian man pictured here. • How do you think his life is different from yours? • How might his life be similar to yours? IMAGE 2: An Armenian shepherd poses near Mt. Ararat Armenians are part of an ancient civilization, tracing their roots back over 4,000 years. Armenia adopted Christianity as the official state religion in the 4th century, making it one of the first Christian nations in the world. The current Republic of Armenia was established in 1991, when Armenians who had lived under Soviet rule declared their independence. However, at different points in history, Armenia covered a much larger territory. 20 Lessons in World History IMAGE 3: The Church of Tekor (4th-5th Century) in 1915 MAP ACTIVITY IMAGE 4: This map shows the current borders of the Republic of Armenia, as well as historic Armenia 1. Use your pen to color in the Republic of Armenia on the map above. 2. Use your pen to trace the border of historic Armenia on the map above. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 21 THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE The Armenian genocide took place during World War I, in the lands of the Ottoman Empire. In addition to modernday Turkey, that large empire included what are now Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. At one time, the Empire also extended into the Balkan region of Southeastern Europe. The Armenian man shown in the picture was executed in the Ottoman capital city of Constantinople (now Istanbul). The death penalty is legal in 38 states in the U.S., including California. Public execution of an Armenian in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople IMAGE 5: • Have you ever seen an execution? You probably answered “no,” since public executions are not performed in the United States. • Why do you think some governments in the world still perform them? 22 Lessons in World History Although the great majority of the Ottoman Empire’s inhabitants were Muslims, there were also large Armenian, Jewish, and Kurdish communities. When World War I broke out, the Armenian population was spread across both the Ottoman (2,100,000) and Russian (1,700,000) empires. Since these two empires were fighting against each other, Armenians were left with a terrible dilemma. If they joined the army, they would have to fight against their fellow Armenians. If they refused to join the army, they could be imprisoned or even killed as traitors to their empire. What would YOU do? • Do you have any close friends or family members who live in another country? • If so, which country? • If your nation’s government forced you to join the army in a war against this other country, what would you do? Why? Would it be a hard decision, or any easy one? Why? Glossary inhabitants: people who live in a particular place. dilemma: a problem that does not have a clear solution. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 23 Families of Armenian deportees on the road IMAGE 6: During World War I, Turkish authorities forcibly deported Armenian families from their homeland. The deportees were taken to concentration camps hundreds of miles away, to the desert regions of what are now Syria and Iraq. Armenians were often given the choice of either converting to Islam or being deported. The wives of Armenian soldiers were often forced to marry Muslims. In the photo above, we see Armenian deportees fleeing their homeland to live in camps in the desert. Without proper food and shelter, many of them died along the way. • In which ways might the deportation have been harder for men? • In which ways might the deportation have been harder for women? 24 Lessons in World History Many of the Armenian prisoners in the camps— including women and children—were eventually IMAGE 7: killed, even though they were unarmed. In April 1916 a German witness at the Ras-ul-Ain camp reported that “every day for almost a month 300 to 500 victims were taken from the camp and slain.” Armenian deportees in a camp in the Syrian desert When those who carried out the killings were questioned, they replied that they had been acting on orders. • Do you think that this is a reasonable defense? Why? Why not? Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 25 Here is an original telegram sent by the U.S. Department of State to the Turkish government, warning them to end the massacre of Armenians. Part of the message reads: For about a month the Kurd and Turkish population of Armenia has been massacring Armenians . . . Inhabitants of about one hundred villages near Van were all murdered. Telegram sent by the U.S. Department of State to the Turkish government in 1915 IMAGE 8: The author of the message describes these killings as “crimes of Turkey against humanity and civilization.” • Do you agree? Why? Why not? 26 Lessons in World History TEACHER’S GUIDE AND ANSWER KEY PART THREE: The Jewish Holocaust This segment of the unit responds directly to the California State Content Standards (10.7.3, 10.8.6, 10.8.7, and 10.9.6) by examining several facets of the Nazi-led genocide of European Jewry. The first paragraph in this section points out to students that Jews had been residing on German soil for over one thousand years prior to the Nazi seizure of power in 1933. In fact, tens of thousands of German Jews had served patriotically in the Kaiser’s army during the First World War. Nevertheless, Adolf Hitler (born and raised in rural Austria) and other Nazi leaders viewed Jews (as well as Sinti and Roma) as an alien and potentially subversive element, and as a threat to the health and purity of the German national body. Since Jewish communities (as well as communities of Sinti and Roma) were scattered throughout the European continent, Nazi ideologues argued that they could never be expected to devote themselves fully to the German nation. Although anti-Semitism and the persecution of Jews had a long history in Europe, twentieth-century racial-biological theories enabled the Nazis to formulate a particularly virulent and distinctly modern version of anti-Semitism that eventually led to the so-called Final Solution, the decision to pursue the mass extermination of all European Jewry. The term “Aryan” was used by the Nazis to describe their mythic “master race” of Nordic “supermen,” typically character- ized by their healthy physiques, fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. Although the term Aryan originally referred to an ancient Indo-Iranian ethnic group (who inhabited territories in what are now Iran, Afghanistan, and northern India), in the Nazi lexicon it referred to a member of the Nordic race and the NaziGerman national community. Numerous sites, including businesses, public baths, and park benches, were marked “Aryans only” as a means of segregating off Jewish Germans (and Sinti and Roma) from the Volksgemeinschaft. Instead of merely writing off this German social practice as an aberration, however, it might be useful to have your students consider some of the similarities between Nazi discrimination and the system of segregation that existed in the United States during this period (the 1930s). While Jim Crow conditions in the American South meant that that public facilities and private businesses were often marked “whites only” and were thus off limits to African Americans, the Chinese Exclusion Acts, discriminatory property laws, and anti-miscegenation laws here in California made life quite difficult for Asian Americans. The questions provided as a followup to the opening paragraph aim to personalize the issue of racial persecution for students by having them discuss instances in their own lives in which they were personally discriminated against. The third and final question asks students whether they would have been permitted to sit on a park bench in Nazi Germany marked “only for Aryans.” In this case, students should understand that they would not have been counted as Aryans merely because they were neither Jewish nor “Gypsy.” Rather, the term Aryan referred only to members of an alleged race of Nordic supermen (and superwomen), as outlined above. Although the majority of the Holocaust victims were non-German Jews who met their demise after the outbreak of the Second World War, the next set of informational blurbs, photographs, and questions helps students imagine the plight of the half a million Jewish Germans persecuted under direct Nazi rule from 1933 onwards. The Nazis passed a series of laws that made life progressively more difficult for Jewish Germans: they outlawed inter-faith marriage, excluded Jews from the civil service and various professions, removed Jewish children from German schools, banned Jewish Germans from driving automobiles or owning radios, and forced Jews to surrender all of their precious metals. In response to the questions provided, students might identify logical reasons for depriving Jewish Germans—whom the Nazis believed to be national enemies—of the various rights, privileges, and possessions described above. By confiscating precious metals, for example, Nazi authorities took away a valuable means of stored wealth, making it more difficult for Jew- Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 27 ish Germans to flee the country and start a new life abroad. Taking away their radios deprived them of the ability to communicate with the outside world (via foreign broadcasts) or to use the radio waves to organize their own resistance movement. Revoking their driver’s licenses also decreased their mobility, but few people could afford their own cars during that time period anyway. Automobiles were a symbol of wealth and social status, and preventing Jews from driving was intended to solidify their inferior position in the Nazi social hierarchy. Nazi racial ideology maintained that one could identify a Jew through his or her appearance. Physical characteristics, including hair, eye, and skin color, as well as the shape of one’s nose, were interpreted as signs of a person’s religious (and racial) background. In reality, however, there were many Jewish Germans with blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, just like the so-called Aryans. In fact, Jewish Germans with these physical characteristics had a much better chance of surviving the Holocaust, in large part because other Germans had a hard time believing that people with distinctively “Aryan” physical traits could possibly be Jewish! The Nazis solved this identity problem by forcing Jews to wear conspicuous yellow Stars of David on the outer layers of their clothing. The picture shown in Image 12—which contains a newly-married couple dressed with yellow stars on their wedding day—reveals the severity with which this rule was enforced. One way of convincing the non-Jewish majority living in the Third Reich that Jewish Germans 28 Lessons in World History were not members of the national community was to portray them as “Orientals,” as a racial element alien to the European Occident entirely. Even though the largest segment of the world’s Jewish population lived in Europe, Nazi propaganda portrayed Jews as a foreign ethnic group linked racially to Egyptians, Arabs, and Turks, in an effort to underscore their supposed “Other-ness.” Both of the posters included in this part of the unit formed a small link in the Nazis’ multimedia propaganda campaign of anti-Semitism, a coordinated effort to indoctrinate the broader German public in a distinctly Nazi worldview in which Jewish Germans were viewed as (a) an alien element in German society and (b) a threat to the purity and survival of the Aryan race. In the first poster, the negative connotation of the word bastard, a term used to describe children born out of wedlock, reinforces the idea of the Jew as tainted and inferior. In this case, however, the message, which reads “The Jew is a Bastard,” portrays the Jew as a tainted and inferior racial hybrid, a mixture of various non-European peoples from around the world. The second poster, entitled “The racial composition of the Jew,” is meant to convey the same central message of Jews’ alleged racial impurity. It is worth mentioning to students that if the racial difference between Jewish and Christian Germans had really been as evident as Nazi propaganda claimed it was, there would have been no need for Nazi ideologues to spend so much time and money educating the public in this matter. Teachers might also wish to discuss issues of gender with their students, since the Nazi depiction of the Jew was invariably a male image, as are the representations contained in these two posters. The stereotypical figure of the Jew, gendered as a male, was also often portrayed as a sexual predator, seeking to contaminate the national body by defiling pure Aryan women. Students might want to contemplate why it is that predators and aggressors in general are typically represented as males. The final segment dealing with the Jewish Holocaust fastforwards to the Nazi invasion of Poland and other areas in the East, providing the historical context required to discuss the Final Solution. In answer to the first question in this section, you can discuss how Polish Jews residing in overcrowded urban ghettos under Nazi occupation were forced to deal with countless tribulations, including (a) a loss of legal rights and protection, (b) a scarcity of foodstuffs and malnutrition, (c) lack of proper sanitation, (d) a high rate of disease and infection without the possibility of proper medical care, (e) lack of mobility, (f) inability to seek employment outside of the ghetto, (g) the possibility of mistreatment at the hands of Nazi soldiers or S.S. men, and (h) the increasingly imminent threat of transportation to a death camp. The second set of questions asks students to consider the inadequate food rations provided to Jewish and non-Jewish Poles living under German occupation. One obvious reason for the insufficient rations was that the exigencies of warfare made it difficult to produce, collect, and distribute produce across battlefronts. Nevertheless, the data tells us that the average German received 6 times as many calories as the average Pole and 10 times as many calories as the average Jew living in occupied Poland in 1941. When considering the reasoning that supported such a heinous practice, the students should evaluate the quotation from the German Secretary of State, Herbert Backe, who explains that Poles were only to be valued for their labor power, while Jews were of no concern at all. Nazi leadership clearly placed a much lower priority on the survival of Jews (and Catholic Poles) than it did on German citizens, which is not necessarily unusual or significant. However, Nazi leaders of the occupation failed to provide their Jewish prisoners with a level of caloric intake that came anywhere near the nutritional content needed for basic survival, and thus, arguably, conducted genocidal practices even before implementation of the Final Solution. In answer to the final question, you can explain that the Nazi decision to switch from gun-point executions to the construction of gas chambers was carried out principally for two reasons: (1) firstly, the use of gas chambers was a more efficient practice, allowing the Nazi leadership to carry out its Final Solution at a much quicker pace; (2) secondly, even for those members of the Nazi Einsatzgruppen (Special Commando Forces) who were virulently anti-Semitic, the physical work involved in continually executing unarmed people at short-range day after day was emotionally draining and psychologically traumatizing. Commando leaders in the field began writing to higher-level officials back home in Berlin, informing them that their men on the frontline were quickly growing weary of the blood, screams, and general gruesomeness involved in their assignments. This historical example provides a rare opportunity for teachers to help humanize—which does not mean to defend—perpetrators of genocide. That is to say, even for those perpetrators who are, in principle, enthusiastically committed to implementing a particular genocide, the actual brutality that it entails in practice is so vile that it demoralizes even them. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 29 STUDENT WORKSHEETS The Jewish Holocaust Although Jewish people had been living in German-speaking lands for one thousand years, when the Nazis came to power in 1933 they enacted a series of laws to exclude Jews from German society. The Nazis attempted to create a “racial state” populated by what they believed to be a superior Aryan race of tall, fair-skinned, blond-haired, blue-eyed supermen and superwomen. The Nazis claimed that Jewish Germans were not only religiously different from “Aryan” Germans, but racially different as well. This meant that even nonobservant Jews and former Jews who had converted to Christianity were still marked for persecution. The signs shown here read “Jews are not welcome here!” and “The Jews are our misfortune!” USHMM PART THREE: Anti-Semitic signs from Nazi Germany: “The Jews are not welcome here” and “The Jews are our misfortune.” IMAGE 9: Discuss the following questions with your classmates. • Have you ever been denied entry to a place because of your race, ethnicity, or religion? If so, when? Why? • If so, how did this make you feel? Did you do anything about it? 30 Lessons in World History IMAGE 10: Aryan-only Park Bench in Nazi Germany In addition to Jews, the Nazis persecuted Communists, homosexuals, “Gypsies,” and people with disabilities. No one from these groups was allowed to become a full member in the Nazis’ racial state. This park bench above is marked, “Nur für Arier,” “Only for Aryans.” • If you had lived in Nazi Germany, could you have sat here? Why/Why not? Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 31 USHMM IMAGE 11: Germans pass by a Jewish-owned store destroyed by the Nazis In late 1938, Nazi policies against the Jews moved from discrimination to outright violence. On the night of November 9th, Nazi storm troopers attacked Jewish- owned shops and destroyed Jewish synagogues in an incident commonly known as Kristallnacht. A series of discriminatory laws were passed: Jew- Glossary synagogues: Jewish houses of prayer. precious metals: valuable metals, such as gold, platinum, and silver. 32 Lessons in World History ish children were forbidden to attend German schools. Jews were forced to surrender all of their precious metals, driver’s licenses, and radios. Discuss the following questions with your classmates. • Why would the Nazis want to take precious metals away from Jewish Germans? • Why would they want to take away their driver’s licenses? • Why would they want to take away their radios? • Can you tell if someone is Jewish by his or her appearance? The six-sided star, known as the “Star of David,” had long been a symbol of Jewish people around the world. Although the Nazis claimed that Jews were a separate race of people, in reality it was often hard to determine whether or not someone was Jewish based solely on his or her appearance. In September 1941, the Nazis passed a law that required all Jews to wear a yellow Star of David at all times, even during weddings! A Jewish bride and groom wear the Star of David IMAGE 12: Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 33 USHMM IMAGE 13: Anti-Semitic propaganda poster from Nazi Germany Even though the largest segment of the world’s Jewish population lived in Europe, Nazi propaganda portrayed Jews as a foreign element in Europe. The Nazi propaganda poster above reads “The Jew is a bastard.” The most common meaning of “bastard” is a child born out of wedlock, but its meaning in this poster is clearly different. • What do you think the word is supposed to mean in this poster? 34 Lessons in World History The poster below is entitled “The racial composition of the Jew.” The figure in the middle (with the arrows pointing towards it) is supposed to represent the “Jewish race.” • What do you think the main message of this poster is? IMAGE 14: USHMM Anti-Semitic propaganda poster from Nazi Germany Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 35 When Hitler came to power, Germany itself had about 560,000 Jewish citizens. However, neighboring Poland contained 3,000,000 Jews, which was about 10 percent of its entire population. Six million Jews were eventually killed across Europe. As the Nazi army advanced through Poland (begining in 1939), it forced Jews to leave their homes and move into overcrowded ghettoes in the Polish cities. A wall was built around the ghettoes to prevent Jews from leaving, and armed guards were ordered to shoot anyone who attempted to escape. Jewish boy in the ghetto USHMM IMAGE 15: • What kinds of problems do you think people living in these ghettoes had? List three: 1. 2. 3. 36 Lessons in World History During the Nazi occupation of Poland, both Poles and Jews had to rely on the German army for food. The German Secretary of State, Herbert Backe, designed a plan for distributing food in Poland. He wrote: I will tell the Poles to look after themselves—we were not to blame for the war. I am only interested in the Poles in so far as I see in them a reservoir of labor, but not to the extent that I feel it is a governmental responsibility that they will get a specific amount to eat . . . The majority of the Polish people will be treated better than the Jews. We have no interest in the Jews. Daily Calorie Content Rations for 1940 and 1941* 1940 1941 Poles: 737 669 Jews: 413 253 Germans: ? 2,613 Nutritionists generally agree that a daily intake of at least 1400 calories is necessary for an adult to survive. • Why do you think that Jews and Poles were given such small rations? *Quotation and data from Jeremy Noakes, ed., Nazism, 1919-1945, Volume 4 Glossary reservoir: a large or extra supply; reserve supply. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 37 IMAGE 16: Executions of Lithuanian Jews As the German army advanced through eastern Europe, the Nazis sent special commando forces behind them to execute Jews and other “enemies.” At first, the killings took place at gun point. However, the • Why do you think this change was made? 38 Lessons in World History Nazi leadership eventually decided to construct gas chambers to execute Jews. TEACHER’S GUIDE AND ANSWER KEY PART FOUR: The “Gypsy” Genocide Although it is not mentioned explicitly in the California State Standards, the Nazi persecution and genocide of Europe’s Sinti and Roma communities was carried out simultaneously with the mass extermination of European Jewry, using the same exact methods and instruments. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum estimates that of the approximately one million Sinti and Roma living in Europe before the war, up to 220,000 were killed by the Nazis and their accomplices. As early as 1938, S.S. chief Heinrich Himmler argued that “the aim of measures taken by the State to defend the homogeneity of the German nation must be the physical separation of Gypsydom from the German nation, the prevention of miscegenation and finally the regulation of the way of life of pureand part-Gypsies” (Burleigh and Wipperman 121). By 1942, Himmler had given the order for the evacuation of all Sinti and Roma living in German lands to concentration camps in the East. As discussed earlier, the politically correct term used to describe the ethnic group commonly known in English as “Gypsies” and in German as “Zigeuner” is “Sinti and Roma.” Although the English term “Gypsy” is a corruption of the word “Egyptian,” anthropologists believe that the ancestors of the migratory Sinti and Roma originated in northern India rather than Egypt or North Africa. Like Jews, Sinti and Roma living in the Third Reich were considered to be carriers of alien blood, and were prohibited—through anti-miscegenation legislation—from having marital relations with “Aryan” Germans. The initial set of pictures and informational blurbs in this section introduces students to the Sinti and Roma and explains how Nazi ideologues came to view them as an alien element and a threat to the German national community. Students who have completed the “Jewish Holocaust” segment of this unit will recognize similar Nazi attitudes and practices at work in the persecution of Sinti and Roma that they encountered in regard to Jewish Germans. In response to the question provided, students should identify the various reasons that Nazi leaders felt that the presence of Sinti and Roma constituted a serious national problem: (1) they were perceived to be racially inferior and non-European in origin, (2) through the possibility of sexual relations with “Aryan” Germans, they were seen as a threat to the purity of the racial composition of the national community, (3) they were seen as work-shy and therefore a drain on the national economy, and (4) communities of Sinti and Roma were highly mobile, making it difficult for German authorities to collect taxes from them or regulate their activities. Like Jews, Sinti and Roma were executed in large numbers by SS Einsatzgruppen and deported to concentration camps such as Auschwitz, where they were marked for extermination. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 39 STUDENT WORKSHEETS PART FOUR: The “Gypsy” Genocide A Sinti and Roma caravan in the forests of Prussia Although they are often called “gypsies” in English (from the word “Egyptian”), the people we call by that name are properly known as Sinti and Roma. Their ancestors originally came from the Punjab region of northern India and first came to Germany in the fifteenth century. The Sinti and Roma prefer a nomadic lifestyle, constantly roaming the countryside in large groups. Although they practiced a version of Christianity, their lifestyle was quite different from settled Germans. “Gypsies” in Nazicontrolled Europe were soon accused of being beggars, thieves, spies, and users of harmful magic. Like 40 Lessons in World History USHMM IMAGE 17: IMAGE 18: A “Gypsy” couple imprisoned in a German concentration camp the Jews, the “Gypsies” were considered to be carriers of “alien blood.” Also like the Jews, they were not permitted to marry or have sexual relations with those of “German blood.” As had happened with the Jews, after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe’s Sinti and Roma population was marked for extermination. German soldiers and police began rounding up “gypsies” and shooting them or deporting them to concentration camps for gassings. IMAGE 19: Sinti and Roma as prisoners in a German concentration camp • Why do you think the Nazis considered the “Gypsies” to be an “inferior race”? List three possible reasons: 1. 2. 3. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 41 TEACHER’S GUIDE AND ANSWER KEY PART FIVE: The Concentration Camps The Nazis established an extensive network of so-called Konzentrationslager (concentration camps) throughout the Third Reich and the occupied lands of Poland, where they could carry out their more heinous ambitions out of sight from the civilian population. While the camps created within the borders of Germany before the start of the Second World War were typically work camps, many of the camps set up in occupied Poland were death camps whose function was to expedite the extermination of Jews and other groups, with little regard for the labor productivity of the prisoners. European Jews, however, were certainly not the only group of people that fell victim to the horrors of the Nazi concentration camp system. In addition to Jews and to the Sinti and Roma, the camps housed foreign POWs and significant numbers of non-Jewish Germans: Communists, religious dissenters, homosexuals, and the so-called “work-shy.” The passages and questions provided in this segment are designed to help students conceptualize the trials and trauma faced by concentration camp residents, including those who survived. The sign on the front gate of Auschwitz I, which read, “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work makes you free”) was merely a sadistic joke. Prisoners could not “earn” their freedom through hard work; rather, labor inside of concentration camps was designed to humiliate, dehumanize, and debilitate them. While it is possible that Nazi leaders decided to place 42 Lessons in World History this unique greeting on the gates of Auschwitz in order to instill a sense of discipline and false hope in the prisoners, it might also have been the case that the expression “Arbeit macht frei” was a cruel play on words with the medieval German expression “Stadtluft macht frei” (“City air makes you free”), a reference to the fact that serfs could be relieved of their feudal obligations after one year’s residence inside town walls. In their postwar trials, former Nazi leaders presented evidence of the genocide in disturbingly emotionless language. The chilling testimony presented here—from Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoess—provides a detailed description of the technique used to exterminate concentration-camp prisoners through gassings. Hoess’s statement reveals that the jewelry and gold teeth were removed from corpses, a practice that seemed rational to him, considering the context of the war. Nazi leaders were concerned about efficiency and expediency—in finances as well as genocide—and gold teeth, when melted down, could provide a valuable revenue stream for a nation at war. The dead bodies, of course, were cremated daily at on-site incinerators. The Concentration Camps: Liberation The gradual liberation of the Nazi death camps by the Allied Forces in 1945 exposed the international public to horrors beyond its imagination. At the end of the war, United States General (and future President) Dwight D. Eisenhower insisted on inspecting the concentration camps firsthand. Even a seasoned veteran of mortal combat like Eisenhower was mortified by what he witnessed, describing the sights as “so overpowering as to leave [him] a bit sick.” As an example, the bundles of human hair discovered by the Soviet soldiers who liberated Auschwitz came from camp prisoners who were shorn before being gassed. The hair was used to make blankets and to stuff pillows. Once again, it is important to discuss the context of the war in order for students to grasp the disturbing level of inhumanity involved in this practice. While the prisoners marked for extermination undoubtedly welcomed the liberation of the camps by Allied Forces, the victims’ trials and tribulations were certainly not all behind them. In response to the question provided, students should be encouraged to understand that survivors grappled with numerous problems, such as (a) malnutrition and scarcity of food, (b) widespread disease, (c) the grim reality that many family members and loved ones had perished, (d) a lack of money and financial assets, (e) a lack of a home (or even a home country) to return to, (f) anxiety over the inevitable search for a new job or career, and (g) psychological trauma, including survivor’s guilt. STUDENT WORKSHEETS The Concentration Camps USHMM PART FIVE: IMAGE 20: The entrance gate at Auschwitz The most infamous Nazi concentration camp was located in Auschwitz, Poland. The sign on the front gate read, “Arbeit macht frei,” or “Work makes you free.” • Do you think that prisoners who worked hard were set free? • Why/Why not? • If not, why do you think this greeting was placed above the entrance gate? Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 43 USHMM IMAGE 21: Prisoners at the Buchenwald Camp perform forced labor Rudolf Hoess was the commander of the camp at Auschwitz, where 3,000,000 people—mostly Jews—were killed. A small percentage of the prisoners were cho- sen for forced labor, but the great majority of Auschwitz inmates were exterminated in gas chambers. After the war, Hoess was tried and convicted for crimes against humanity. During his trial for war crimes, Hoess explained how the executions worked: I used Cyclon B, which we dropped into the death chamber from a small opening . . . It took from 3 to 15 minutes to kill the people in the death chamber depending upon climatic conditions. We knew when the people were dead because their screaming stopped. We usually waited about one half hour before we opened the doors and removed the bodies. After the bodies were removed our special commandos took off the rings and extracted the gold from the teeth of the corpses. 44 Lessons in World History USHMM IMAGE 22: Two of the ovens at Dachau Discuss the following questions with your classmates. • Why do you think the prison guards removed rings and gold teeth from the dead bodies? • What do you think they did with these things? • What do you think happened to the dead bodies? Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 45 USHMM THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS: LIBERATION IMAGE 23: General Eisenhower inspects the camp at Ohrdruf At the end of World War II, United States General (and future President) Dwight D. Eisenhower insisted on inspecting the concentration camps firsthand. After visiting the camps, Eisenhower said: The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering as to leave me a bit sick . . . I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in a position to give firsthand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda. 46 Lessons in World History USHMM Some concentration camp prisoners managed to survive until the end of the war. Of course, these survivors were glad to be liberated from their Nazi captors, but their lives did not become idyllic overnight. IMAGE 24: Prisoners at the Dachau camp after liberation • What kinds of problems do you think the survivors might have had? List three: 1. 2. 3. Glossary bestiality: extremely brutal and animal-like behavior. idyllic: simple and carefree. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 47 USHMM When the Soviet Army liberated the concentration camp at Auschwitz, they found 18,000 pounds of human hair! IMAGE 25: Bales of human hair found at Auschwitz • Where do you think the hair came from? • What do you think the hair was supposed to be used for? 48 Lessons in World History TEACHER’S GUIDE AND ANSWER KEY PART SIX: The Bosnian Genocide From the foundation of the Yugoslav state following the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I through the outbreak of World War II, and again throughout the Cold War, the various ethnic groups of Yugoslavia lived in relative peace with one another despite cultural and religious differences. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union and the Iron Curtain, the culturally diverse nation of Yugoslavia began to fracture along ethnic lines. The various ethnic regions of Serbdominated Yugoslavia began to secede and declare their independence, including Macedonia (1991), Slovenia (1991), Croatia (1991), and Bosnia-Hercegovina (1992). The three major ethnic groups in Bosnia, however, were deeply divided over the question of independence, and the region eventually erupted into warfare. While Croats and Serbs brought imported armed forces into Bosnia relatively quickly, Bosnian Muslims lacked such forces until much later. Reports of mass slaughter under the guise of “ethnic cleansing” soon began to filter out to the world through the international news media. Although the Bosnian Genocide is not explicitly integrated into the California Content Standards, this segment of the unit addresses several Skills Standards, prompting students to compare earlier genocides with this late-twentieth century case, “evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned” (Chronological and Spatial Thinking Skill). Indeed, the first passage comes from an American journalist’s interview with a Bosnian Muslim leader, who evoked memories of the Holocaust in his appeal to the international community by exclaiming, “It’s like Jews being sent to Auschwitz.” The map activity addresses another Skills Standard by introducing students to the United Nations’ and European Community’s joint peace proposal for Bosnia, the Vance-Owen plan. The goal of the exercise is to help students understand that the various ethnic groups inhabiting Bosnia in the early 1990s were intensely intermingled. While it is true that Muslims, Croats, and Serbs were each more concentrated in some of Bosnia’s ten provinces than they were in others, these provinces were not adjacent to one another. In response to the follow-up questions, students should be encouraged to understand that each Bosnian province contained residents from all three ethnic backgrounds, who sometimes even lived on the same street or in the same building as each other. In fact, 40 percent of marriages in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo crossed Serbian/Bosnian/Croatian divides. In that sense, to separate Bosnia along ethnic lines in 1993 was just as problematic a task as it would be to divide Los Angeles County along ethnic lines today. This section of the unit introduces students to the key term “ethnic cleansing,” a euphemism employed by Serb leaders to describe the forcible removal and mass slaughter of Bosnian Muslims. Since students are familiar with each of the two components of this term, they should be able to guess the meaning of the phrase. However, teachers might also wish to point out that the use of the word “cleansing” implies that people of a certain ethnicity are somehow dirty or polluted, revealing a mentality often associated with perpetrators of genocide. This segment also introduces the concept of refugees to students, providing three visual aids from the conflict in Bosnia. As described earlier, refugees can be defined as “people displaced due to an ongoing war or as a result of ethnic or religious conflict,” although refugee situations can also result from foreign occupations or domestic political tensions. It is impossible to say whether or not the specific refugees shown here ever returned home; thus, there is no correct or incorrect answer to this question. Nevertheless, teachers should draw students’ attention to the first photograph, which reveals the Serb practice of burning the roofs off of Muslim homes, rendering them unlivable. Finally, you might discuss the systematic use of rape as an instrument of terror and humiliation during the conflict, as Bosnian women held in “rape camps” were reportedly taunted with remarks such as, “now you’ll have Serb babies!” Once again you can encourage students to consider the ways in which genocide can be experienced differently according to the victim’s gender. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 49 STUDENT WORKSHEETS PART SIX: The Bosnian Genocide During the Cold War, the various ethnic groups of Yugoslavia lived in relative peace with one another despite their cultural and religious differences. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, however, the various ethic regions of Yugoslavia began to secede and declare their independence, including Macedonia (1991), Slovenia (1991), and Croatia (1991). The region of Bosnia also attempted to declare its independence, but its three major ethnic groups (Muslims, Croats, and Serbs) could not agree on the matter. Bosnia soon erupted into ethnic violence and warfare. The world began to receive horrible reports coming out of Bosnia. In July 1991, a Bosnian Muslim leader told a reporter from New York’s Newsday: IMAGE 26: Muslim mother and child in a refugee camp Please try to come here . . . They are shipping Muslim people through here in cattle cars. Last night there were 25 train wagons . . . crowded with women, old people and children. It’s like Jews being sent to Auschwitz. In the name of humanity, please come. Glossary secede: to end membership in an organization, association, or political entity. 50 Lessons in World History In January 1993 the United Nations and the European Community published a joint peace plan. They proposed diving Bosnia’s 10 provinces between the Muslims, Serbs, and Croats. The Vance-Owen plan for Bosnia IMAGE 27: MAP ACTIVITY 1. Sections 1, 5, and 9 were to be given to Bosnian Muslims. Color them in green. 2. Sections 2, 4, and 6 were to be given to Bosnian Serbs. Color them in red. 3. Sections 3 and 8 were to be given to Bosnian Croats. Color them in blue. The Vance-Owen plan was never implemented. Discuss the following questions with your classmates. • Do you think it would have worked? Could the plan have prevented mass killings of Bosnian Muslims? Why/Why not? What might have been some potential problems with the Vance-Owen plan? Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 51 Below is a passage from the diary of a young girl named Zlata, written on October 1, 1992: I spend my days in the house and in the cellar. That’s my wartime childhood. And it’s summer . . . God, what did I do to deserve being in a war, spending my days in a way that no child should. I feel caged. • Was there a time in your life when you felt caged or trapped? Why? IMAGE 28: A house in Bosnia with its roof burned off Serb militiamen forcibly removed Bosnian Muslims’ homes as part of program they called “ethnic cleansing.” The homes of many Muslims had their roofs burned off by Serb militiamen. • What do you think is meant by the term “ethnic cleansing”? 52 Lessons in World History IMAGE 29 (left): A refugee cooks dinner in Serbianoccupied Turanj, 1994 IMAGE 30 (below): A refugee family in the former Yugoslavia • What does it mean to be a refugee? • What are the most common reasons people become refugees? • Do you think that the refugees shown here ever returned home? Why/Why not? Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 53 TEACHER’S GUIDE AND ANSWER KEY PART SEVEN: The Rwandan Genocide Once part of France’s enormous colonial empire in Africa, the tiny nations of Rwanda and Burundi found themselves embroiled in civil war in 1994, as a group of Hutu extremists launched a campaign of extermination against ethnic Tutsis in response to the assassination of the Hutu president of Rwanda. Over 800,000 ethnic Tutsis lost their lives in a three-month period, leaving 300,000 orphaned Tutsi children. Although Tutsis represented a mere fraction of the population of the nations of Rwanda and Burundi—about 15 percent at the time that the genocide took place—French colonial administrators tended to favor them (over the majority Hutus) during the years of colonial rule, a practice that helped breed ill feeling between the region’s two main ethnic groups. The initial map exercise is designed to build geographical knowledge by helping students locate Rwanda and Burundi—two nations each the size of Maryland with a combined population of 14 million— on a continental map of Africa. Children who grew up in this war-torn region of Africa routinely were exposed to guns and violence. The first set of questions asks students to compare their own upbringing with that of the young child pictured in the accompanying photograph. The next photograph, similar 54 Lessons in World History to the image provided in the Bosnian segment, shows civilian houses with their roofs burned off, a practice clearly targeted at families with the intention of creating a refugee crisis. Students are asked to consider whether or not such a pseudo-military action constitutes a war crime, a question that they should be familiar with at this stage of the lesson. Students’ answers will vary, since this is a matter of personal opinion, but students should be encouraged to formulate arguments to defend their views regarding international codes of conduct during warfare. It is, of course, hardly a coincidence that genocidal attacks historically tend to occur within the context of larger wars. The next activity attempts to make the experience and pain of genocide more accessible to high-school students by having them sympathize with the plight of the 300,000 Tutsi children orphaned during the campaign of ethnic cleansing and extermination. Students are provided with two authentic full-color sketches drawn by young survivors of the Rwandan Genocide; the students are then asked to assume the voice of the victims and to compose accompanying letters to the international community in an effort to educate the world about the evils of genocide. Since the study of Rwanda culminates the unit, teachers may want to turn this task into an extended writing assignment. Some students may wish to write their letters in the persona of a teacher in order to display their acquisition of historical knowledge about five different cases of genocide in the twentieth century, as well as their thoughtful consideration of the issue at hand. Other students may want to imagine that they are writing their letters to students of their age in another part of the world who are not as familiar with these historical examples of genocide. Students should be encouraged to discuss their own values and morals and make recommendations regarding their audiences’ everyday social interactions. How should we behave towards others on a daily basis in order to minimize the possibility of ethnic or religious tension and attacks on those perceived as outsiders? STUDENT WORKSHEETS PART SEVEN: The Rwandan Genocide Rwanda and Burundi are two tiny countries just east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). The two countries have a combined popula- IMAGE 31: tion of 14 million people, and each is about the size of the state of Maryland. Most of the inhabitants of Rwanda and Burundi belong to one of two ethnic groups: the Hutus (about 80-85 percent of each country’s population), and the Tutsis (about 14-15 percent) of each country’s population. Political map of the continent of Africa MAP ACTIVITY Find Rwanda and Burundi on the map of Africa and circle them. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 55 In 1994, a ground-based missile hit the plane carrying Rwandan President (and Hutu) General Juvenal Habyarimana as it was about to land in the city of IMAGE 32: Kigali. A group of Hutu extremists used the killing as an excuse to launch a campaign of genocide against the minority Tutsis. In a three-month period, over 800,000 ethnic Tutsis lost their lives, leaving 300,000 orphaned Tutsi children. Semi-automatic machine guns are a familiar sight for this boy • Have you ever held a gun? Does your family have a gun in your home? If so, why? What does your family use it for? • How do you think your life would be different if all of the people around you used guns? 56 Lessons in World History IMAGE 33: Roofs were often burned off of houses • The houses above have had their roofs burned off by enemy soldiers. • Do you think that this is a war crime, or just a standard part of war? Why? Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 57 The picture below, titled “The War in Rwanda,” was drawn by an orphaned Tutsi child. IMAGE 34: The War in Rwanda ACTIVITY Imagine that you are a Tutsi child. You don’t have any photos or videos of what happened. All you have is your memory and the picture you have drawn. On a separate piece of paper, write a message to the people of the world, explaining what we can learn from the war in Rwanda. 58 Lessons in World History President Bill Clinton traveled to Kigali, Rwanda in 1998 to pay his respect to the victims. After his visit, he said: Rwanda experienced the most intensive slaughter in this bloodfilled century . . . Families slaughtered in their homes, people hunted down as they fled . . . through farmland and woods as if they were animals . . . People gathered seeking refuge in churches by the thousands, in hospitals, in schools. And when they were found, the old and sick, women and children alike, they were killed—killed because their identity card said they were a Tutsi. IMAGE 35: The Genocide ACTIVITY Imagine that you are a Tutsi child. You don’t have any photos or videos of what happened. All you have is your memory and the picture you have drawn. On a separate piece of paper, write a message to the people of the world, explaining what we can learn from the genocide. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 59 TEACHER’S GUIDE AND ANSWER KEY PART EIGHT: Genocide: Who is to blame? The final segment in this unit on genocide prompts students to grapple with the difficult question of assigning blame and guilt by asking them to work through a series of hypothetical cases. These cases may be worked out in small groups, but teachers might also wish to consider using the information provided here to organize class-wide mock trials. In each of the test cases, students are presented with an accused accomplice to genocide who had been caught up in the atrocities but was not necessarily implicated directly in ethnic extermination. After weighing the evidence and context, students should reach a group verdict; they should decide if the ac- 60 Lessons in World History cused is (A) innocent, (B) guilty of genocide, or (C) guilty of a crime other than genocide. It is crucial that students be provided with the option of convicting the accused for a crime (even a war crime) other than genocide, since this will encourage them to establish firm boundaries and definitions as to which types of behavior should rightfully be categorized under the heinous super-heading of genocide. Groups who choose Option C—guilty of a crime other than genocide—should be pressed to formulate a specific description of the crime they believe has been committed. Once again, there are no clearly correct or incorrect verdicts for these five test cases. Rather, the goals are to (a) help students develop a more complex understanding of the various contexts in which acts of genocide are implemented, and (b) help students formulate and articulate their own working definitions and understandings of genocide. STUDENT WORKSHEETS PART EIGHT: Genocide: Who is to blame? As in war, in cases of genocide it is often difficult to assign responsibility and blame. People caught in the middle are often forced to make difficult decisions. ACTIVITY Discuss each of the situations described on the next page with your group. The group must reach a verdict together. You must decide if each person is (A) innocent, (B) guilty of genocide, or (C) guilty of a crime other than genocide. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 61 CASE 1 CASE 2 Eugenie is an 18-year old Hutu woman. Boris was a Soviet soldier captured by When the Hutu militiamen came to her village, they asked her at gunpoint to tell them which houses belonged to Tutsis. She didn’t want to help them, but she was scared that they might kill her. Eugenie decided to take the militiamen to the Tutsi homes. Fifty-five Tutsis in her village were slaughtered that night. Is Eugenie… the Nazis during World War II and imprisoned in Auschwitz. Although he was kept in the concentration camp for 3 years, Boris’ life was easier than the Jewish prisoners’ lives. The Nazis made him a supervisor of his barrack and assigned him to work the ovens. Boris never killed anyone during his time in Auschwitz, but he personally burned over 10,000 dead bodies, including people from his own barrack. Is Boris… (a) Innocent (b) Guilty of Genocide (c) Guilty of ______________________ (a) Innocent (b) Guilty of Genocide (c) Guilty of ______________________ CASE 3 CASE 4 Mustafa was a general in the Ottoman Predrag was a militiaman in the Bos- Army during World War I. The army was having trouble in the eastern part of the empire; it was reported that some of the Armenian minorities were secretly helping Armenian fighters in the Russian Empire. Although he did not participate in the killings firsthand, Mustafa ordered Turkish soldiers to “eliminate” the empire’s Armenian population. Eventually, over one million Armenians were slaughtered. Is Mustafa… nian Serb Army. He participated in the “ethnic cleansing” of the town of Bihac, in which thousands of Muslims lost their lives. Although Predrag did not shoot any Bosnian Muslims himself, he forced dozens of people out of their homes at gunpoint. Many of them were killed by other militiamen or died of starvation months later in refugee camps. Is Predrag… (a) Innocent (b) Guilty of Genocide (c) Guilty of ______________________ (a) Innocent (b) Guilty of Genocide (c) Guilty of ______________________ Glossary barrack: a building used as housing for military personnel or prisoners. refugee: someone who flees his or her home to escape war or persecution. 62 Lessons in World History LIST OF IMAGES Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century Cover Image: “Women of Britain Say Go.” Reprinted with permission from The Imperial War Museum, London. Cover Image: “Women of Britain Say Go.” Reprinted with permission from The Imperial War Museum, London. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 63 Cover Image: “A teenage vendor sells newspapers and armbands in the Warsaw ghetto” (Willy Georg). Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 07525). 64 Lessons in World History Image 1: “A Mass Grave in Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp” (Arnold Bauer Barach). Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 32072). Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 65 Image 2: “Armenian shepherd with Mt. Ararat in the background.” Reproduced from Yair Auron, The Banality of Indifference: Zionism and the Armenian Genocide (New Brunswick and London: Transaction Publishers, 2000), pp. 214-215. 66 Lessons in World History Image 3: “The Church of Tekor.” Reproduced from Gerard Libaridian, A Crime of Silence: The Armenian Genocide. The Permanent People’s Tribunal (London: Zed Books, 1985), p. 183. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 67 Image 4: “Map of historic and current Armenia.” Reproduced from Donald E. Miller, Survivors: An Oral History of the Armenian Genocide (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), p. xii. 68 Lessons in World History Image 5: Armin T. Wegner, “Summary executions” (Armin T. Wegner Archives). Reproduced from Armin T. Wegner and the Armenians in Anatolia, 1915: Images and Testimonies (Milano: Guerini E. Associati, 2000), p. 87. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 69 Image 6: Armin T. Wegner, “On the way of no return” (Armin T. Wegner Archives). Reproduced from Armin T. Wegner and the Armenians in Anatolia, 1915: Images and Testimonies (Milano: Guerini E. Associati, 2000), p. 98. 70 Lessons in World History Image 7: Armin T. Wegner, “The laagers in the desert” (Armin T. Wegner Archives). Reproduced from Armin T. Wegner and the Armenians in Anatolia, 1915: Images and Testimonies (Milano: Guerini E. Associati, 2000), p. 117. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 71 Image 8: “Report of Allied warning to the Ottoman government to stop the massacres of Armenians, May 29, 1915” (National Archives). Record Group 59, Records of the Department of State (RG59, 867.40 16/67). 72 Lessons in World History Image 9: “A sign posted in front of a fence that reads, ‘Jews are not wanted here.’” Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 66668). Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 73 Image 10: “Aryan-only park bench.” Reproduced from Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wipperman, The Racial State: Germany, 1933-1945 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991), p. 87. 74 Lessons in World History Image 11: “Germans pass by the broken shop window of a Jewish-owned business that was destroyed during Kristallnacht” (National Archives). Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 86838). Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 75 Image 12: “Jewish bride and groom with Stars of David.” Reproduced from Marion Kaplan, Beyond Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany (New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 164. 76 Lessons in World History Image 13: “Propaganda slide depicting Jews as the bastard sons of Asian and negroid racial groups” (Marion Davy). Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 17609). Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 77 Image 14: “Eugenics poster entitled ‘The racial composition of Jews,’ with German text that reads, ‘The Jews are a mixture of alien Near Eastern, oriental, Hamite, and Negroid races’” (Verlag für nationale Literatur / Publisher for National Literature). Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 94184). 78 Lessons in World History Image 15: “A teenage vendor sells newspapers and armbands in the Warsaw ghetto” (Willy Georg). Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 07525). Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 79 Image 16: “Executions of Lithuanian Jews.” Reproduced from Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wipperman, The Racial State: Germany, 1933-1945 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991), p. 69. 80 Lessons in World History Image 17: “A caravan of Sinti and Roma in Prussia.” Reproduced from Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wipperman, The Racial State: Germany, 1933-1945 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991), p. 115. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 81 Image 18: “Close-up of a Gypsy couple sitting in an open area in the Belzec concentration camp” (Jerzy Ficowski). Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 07078). 82 Lessons in World History Image 19: “Sinti and Roma concentration camp prisoners.” Reproduced from Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wipperman, The Racial State: Germany, 1933-1945 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991), p. 123. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 83 Image 20: “View of the entrance to the main camp at Auschwitz” (Instytut Pamieci Narodowej). Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 00001). 84 Lessons in World History Image 21: “Buchenwald prisoners at forced labor near the entrance to the concentration camp” (Instytut Pamieci Narodowej). Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 81241). Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 85 Image 22: “Two ovens inside the crematorium at the Dachau concentration camp” (National Archives). Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 80722). 86 Lessons in World History Image 23: “General Dwight Eisenhower and other high ranking U.S. Army officers view the bodies of prisoners who were killed during the evacuation of Ohrdruf, while on a tour of the newly liberated concentration camp” (National Archives). Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 04649). Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 87 Image 24: “A group of emaciated survivors sit outside a barracks in the newly liberated Dachau concentration camp” (Frank Manucci). Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 07969). 88 Lessons in World History Image 25: “Bales of human hair ready for shipment to Germany found in one the Auschwitz warehouses when the camp was liberated” (Instytut Pamieci Narodowej). Reproduced with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photograph # 66583). Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 89 Image 26: “Bosnian Muslim mother and child in a refugee camp.” Reproduced from Carol Rogel, The Breakup of Yugoslavia and the War in Bosnia (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998), p. 78-79. 90 Lessons in World History Image 27: “Vance-Owen plan for Bosnia.” Reproduced from Tom Gallagher, The Balkans After the Cold War: From Tyranny to Tragedy (London & New York: Routledge, 2003), p. 113. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 91 Image 28: “A house in Bosnia with its roof burned off.” Reproduced from Brendan O’Shea, Crisis at Bihac: Bosnia’s Bloody Battlefield (Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton, 1998), pp. 108-109. 92 Lessons in World History Image 29: “A refugee cooks dinner in Turanj, 1994.” Reproduced from Brendan O’Shea, Crisis at Bihac: Bosnia’s Bloody Battlefield (Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton, 1998), pp. 108-109. Five Cases of Genocide in the Twentieth Century 93 Image 30: “A refugee family in the former Yugoslavia.” Reproduced from Brendan O’Shea, Crisis at Bihac: Bosnia’s Bloody Battlefield (Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton, 1998), pp. 108-109. 94 Lessons in World History Image 31: Political map of Africa, 2003. Reproduced from the Perry-Castañeda Map Collection (Austin: University of Texas Library). http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/africa_pol_2003.jpg Image 32: “Young boy surrounded by machine guns.” Reproduced from Timothy Longman, Proxy Targets: Civilians in the Burundi War (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1998), p. 45. Image 33: “Houses with their roofs burned off.” Reproduced from Timothy Longman, Proxy Targets: Civilians in the Burundi War (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1998), p. 29. Image 34: “Child’s drawing: the war in Rwanda.” Reproduced from Richard Salem, Witness to Genocide: The Children of Rwanda. Drawings by Child Survivors of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 (New York: Friendship Press, 2000), p. 17. Image 35: “Child’s drawing: Genocide.” Reproduced from Richard Salem, Witness to Genocide: The Children of Rwanda. Drawings by Child Survivors of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 (New York: Friendship Press, 2000), p. 21. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS THE UCI CALIFORNIA HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE PROJECT Robert G. Moeller, Faculty Director and Professor of History Stephanie Reyes-Tuccio, Site Director Eileen Powell, CH-SSP Program Assistant http://www.hnet.uci.edu/history/chssp/ HUMANITIES OUT THERE Julia Reinhard Lupton, Faculty Director and Professor of English and Comparative Literature Tova Cooper, Director of Publications Peggie Winters, Grants Manager http://yoda.hnet.uci.edu/hot/ THE SANTA ANA PARTNERSHIP: UCI’S CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS Juan Francisco Lara, Director http://www.cfep.uci.edu/ THE SANTA ANA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Lewis Bratcher, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education http://www.sausd.k12.ca.us/ SANTA ANA COLLEGE Sara Lundquist, Vice-President of Student Services Lilia Tanakeyowma, Director of the Office of School and Community Partnerships and Associate Dean of Student Development Melba Schneider, GEAR UP Coordinator http://www.sac.edu/ This unit would not have been possible without the support of Professor Karen Lawrence, Dean of the School of Humanities at the University of California, Irvine; Professor Robert G. Moeller, Faculty Director of the UCI California History-Social Science Project, who provides ongoing intellectual leadership in all areas touching on historical research, interpretation, and teacher professional development; Dr. Manuel Gómez, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, who provided funding and has been a steadfast supporter of our work; and the leadership of the Santa Ana Partnership, including Dr. Juan Lara, Director of the UCI Center for Educational Partnerships; Dr. Sara Lundquist, Vice-President of Student Services at Santa Ana College; Lilia Tanakeyowma, Director of the Office of School and Community Partnerships and Associate Dean of Student Development at Santa Ana College; and Dr. Lewis Bratcher, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education at the Santa Ana Unified School District. PERMISSIONS The materials included in this booklet are original works of authorship, works for which copyright permission has expired, works reprinted with permission, or works that we believe are within the fair use protection of the copyright laws. This is an educational and non-commercial publication designed specifically for high school History-Social Science classes, and is distributed to teachers without charge. Book design by Susan Reese 1450 — — — — 1500 — — — — 1550 — — — — 1600 — — — — 1650 — — — “The curriculum in World History shows students that history matters. Demonstrating the connections among regions that shaped a global economy and society, these innovative curricular units also show students how to build bridges between the past and the present. Correlated with the California State Content Standards for tenth grade world history, these units in world history take young historians from the industrial revolution of the late eighteenth century to the Cold War.” —Robert G. Moeller, Professor of History and Faculty Director of the California History-Social Science Project, University of California, Irvine — 1700 — — — — 1750 — CALIFORNIA HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE STANDARDS ADDRESSED 10.5 — Students analyze the causes and course of the First World War. — 10.5.5 — 1800 — — — — 1850 — Discuss human rights violations and genocide, including the Ottoman government’s actions against Armenian citizens. 10.8 Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II. — 10.8.5 — Analyze the Nazi policy of pursuing racial purity, especially against the European Jews; its transformation into the Final Solution; and the Holocaust that resulted in the murder of six million Jewish civilians. — 1900 — — — — 1950 — — — — 2000 10.9 Students analyze the international developments in the post-World World War II world.