After seeing if there is further commentary about the dropping of the atomic bomb and taking questions about Monday's exam, we'll loop back to the start of the conflict in Europe and examine some details about the Holocaust. We'll use The Century: Civilians at War (4:02-32:45) to do so. Then, in honor of Genocide Awareness day, we'll spend the last part of class exploring the following websites:
The U.S. says ISIS is committing Genocide
Acts of Genocide Since the Adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide in 1951
Wall St. Journal Runs an Ad Denying the Armenian Genocide
Early Warning Project Map
Video describing the Early Warning Project
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum: A Force for Change
National Geographic Series on Remembering the Rwandan Genocide
10 Stages of Genocide
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power on Never Again
You should finish class today by leaving a comment to this post about something that you read or saw today and why it seems to be significant or important.
I found it very interesting that there are still groups today saying the the Armenian genocide never happened. I find it intriguing that their main argument is that it wasn't that many people. Even if it is not as many as they say it is still killing a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Samantha Power's statement on "Never Again," she helped me notice something that is very true and I haven't truly noticed;it is something that must be changed. The statement "Never Again" has actually been "Again and Again" throughout the world. The difference between the spoken word and its outcome is so immense and this is the worst thing that could possibly happen when it comes to genocide. We must turn around our action and not only talk the talk, but walk the talk as well.
ReplyDeleteFrom the video: Although I had seen a lot of videos about the Holocaust in middle school, it still shocks me today. One thing that really shocked me today was learning that the Nazis would use the remains of the people they killed for their own usage (i.e. their hair for mattress stuffing). That's just incredible inhumane; it is really hard to think that a group of people would commit such horrible acts of violence against another group.
ReplyDeleteFrom the articles: I looked at the article about the genocides that have occurred since the convention of prevention and punishment of Genocide in 1951. I was amazed to learn that countries still hadn't learned from the horrors of the Holocaust. 25 different genocides have occurred since then, and 3 genocides are currently going on today (4 if counting Isis). It's unreal that some people haven't learned from the horrors of the Holocaust. Clearly, the message that survivors have passed on about the realities of it should continue to be passed. The message of "never again" should always be passed to all generations in order to prevent it from ever happening again.
Interesting to explore the notion of Genocide prevention. With regards to ISIS and the ongoing war between the U.S., it poses a fundamental question. Who is in charge of stopping a genocide, and to what level is a nation obligated to do this?
ReplyDeleteI found it hard to believe that there are still deniers of the Armenian genocide in places other than Turkey. It is hardly disputable that millions of Armenians lost their lives due to blind hatred.
ReplyDeleteI am frankly interested in the fact that the Turkish government has become so instilled with the denial of the persecution of Armenians during World War I. Unto that end however, one must realize that publication of pro-denial advertising in The Wall Street Journal is legal under free press, but the company must keep in mind that if they publish these so-called "provocative" advertisements, it will certainly be held with backlash from others, evident by the response article in question. The only true way to fight things such as this is not with weapons but with words.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the EarlyWarning genocide map, the first think I noticed was there was only a 0.1 chance of genocide in both Canada and America. Because the countries are considered "melting pots", it is pretty clear why this would be. Even though there in inter-racial and inter-religion segregation and even hatred between some groups to an extent, it is nowhere near the point of a genocide. However, in countries such as Mayanmar, the statistical risk of a genocide is up to 13.2 percent which is extremely high. Since our country only has a very small chance, though, we tend to block the possibility of genocides in other countries out of our perspectives.
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ReplyDeleteThe House recently decided the actions of ISIS in Seria and Iraq are part of a genocide, however the white house has not responded nor declared genocide either, mainly because if they do that, the military must take direct action. While we already as a country are trying to stop ISIS and their efforts, we cannot allow of a genocide to happen. Not only must we act now, we risk our lives and lives in the middle east due to terrorism and the growing power of ISIS.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to see how many genocides have happened since the Holocaust. The IPAHP lists over 20 genocides that have happened in the 20th and 21st centuries. I also thought the stages of genocide article was significant as it can possibly assist in the recognizing of genocide and hopefully prevention of future genocides.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the Early Warning Project map, I learned that countries like Myanmar, Nigeria, and Sudan had the highest statistical risk of a potential genocide. Considering the world's history of genocides, I was shocked to know that some countries would still inflict such acts against people, today.
ReplyDeleteTo this day there are so many people who refuse to acknowledge the existence of multiple genocides worldwide. Countries continue to say never again but that never gets followed through. Also, I find it quite interesting how there are other controversial genocides like the Holocaust but more recent yet it isn't even remotely mentioned in school. I only learned about the Rwandan and Sudanese genocides from personal research. Instead of teaching about never again students should be learning why it does continue to occur.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe that people even today are denying the fact that the Armenian Genocide happened. Their two reasons to back them was, the Armenians started it and it wasn't that many people. It should not be determined a genocide based on the amount of people targeted and killed.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that the US declared that the ISIS was committing genocide. Since this was only the second time that the US has done this, it shows how serious and violent ISIS' actions have been. There has been an ongoing violence and struggle between the United States and ISIS, and the fact that ISIS has been tagged with genocide shows how serious and important it is to stop ISIS from continuing to perform mass atrocities.
ReplyDeleteThe United States Holocaust Museum Memorial campaign: Never Again is extremely important because it stresses the importance of retelling stories from the Holocaust and being educated in order to stop potential genocides from happening again. I attended the United States Holocaust Museum Memorial event a week ago and got the privilege of listening to survivors speak. This experience showed me the importance of passing on their stories and being educated because it will prevent horrible events of such from happening again.
ReplyDeleteI read about the ten stages of Genocide, and I find it in interesting that humanity has gotten it down to an organizes science with specific preventative methods and yet still does not resist. All of the necessary information is staring us in the face and no action is taken.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article about the full page ad denying the Armenian genocide in the Wall Street Journal, I find it hard to believe that this add ever got though the publication process. Also the fact that they defended their decision to print this article by saying that they make an effort to print provocative and thought provoking articles seems especially cruel.
ReplyDeleteI find it appalling that the last stage of genocides end in denial. It's really ridiculous that these perpetrators try so hard to deny any involvement in the crime. There's even evidence to back up the genocides. The worst part is that these perpetrators blame the victims.
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