Download Human Rights Violations Thematic Essay Outlines Blacks under

Human Rights Violations Thematic Essay Outlines Theme: Human Rights Task: Select two examples where human rights have been denied to groups of people and for each 1. Explain the historical circumstances that led to the denial of human rights. 2. Describe how the human rights of that group were denied. 3. Discuss an action taken by an individual, a group, or a government that attempted to end the human rights violations Some choices you could write about include: genocide of Armenians, Cambodian’s under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, Bosnian’s, genocide in Rwanda, the Sudan . . . . Blacks under Apartheid in South Africa: Jews during the Holocaust 1. Historical Circumstances: Beginning with British imperialism in the 1800s, South Africa’s government was ruled by the white minority (fewer people). Whites controlled the economy of South Africa and gained access to all the best resources and lands in South Africa. 2. Denial of human rights for the blacks: In the 1940’s the white government established the policy of apartheid, which racially segregated (separated) whites and blacks. Even though blacks were the majority (more of them), whites got all the best land, education, and access to healthcare while blacks suffered and faced discrimination. Blacks were forced to carry identification cards at all times and were denied power in the government. 3. Actions taken: Nelson Mandela was a black South African who joined the African National Congress looking to gain rights for blacks and end apartheid. He was arrested and went to jail for 27 years. While he was in jail, governments around the world began to boycott South African goods. After enormous pressure from around the world, the white government ended apartheid, freed Mandela, and allowed for multi-­‐racial elections. Mandela was elected President of South Africa in 1994. 1. Historical Circumstances: Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in the 1930’s in Germany by promising to deal with the poor economic conditions. Hitler and the Nazi’s created a fascist state which glorified German nationalism and looked to rebuild Germany to greatness after their defeat in World War I. Hitler used the Jews as a scapegoat and blamed them for Germany’s problems. 2. Denial of human rights for the Jews: Anti-­‐Semitism (hatred towards Jews) was a part of the Nazi beliefs. The Nazi’s passed laws (Nuremberg Laws) in the 1930’s taking away the rights of Jews and forcing them to move to overcrowded ghettos, or Jewish areas. Violence against Jews increased and in November of 1938, Nazi mobs attacked Jews in their homes and streets destroying their businesses and homes (Kristallnacht). Soon after, the Nazi’s began the process of systematically eliminating Jews completely. The genocide of the Jews by the Nazi’s was known as the Holocaust. Jews were forced into concentration camps as prisoners. In 1942, the Nazi’s “Final Solution” to the “Jewish problem” was to create death camps. All in all, the Nazi’s killed more than 6 million Jews during the Holocaust. 3. Actions Taken: The Allied powers began to free these Concentration Camps as Germany neared defeat in 1945. After World War II, Nazi’s were put on trial at the Nuremberg Trials. Nazi leaders were accused of committing “crimes against humanity” and found guilty. Directions: In space below (and on back), choose ONE of the Human Rights violations above and write a paragraph addressing the task: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________