Topic 7.8 Mass Atrocities After 1900
Thematic Focus: Social Interactions and Organization SIO
The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern the interactions between these groups and between individuals influence political, economic, and cultural institutions and organization.
Learning Objective
Explain the various causes and consequences of mass atrocities in the period from 1900 to the present.
Historical Developments
The rise of extremist groups in power led to the attempted destruction of specific populations, notably the Nazi killing of the Jews in the Holocaust during World War II, and to other atrocities, acts of genocide, or ethnic violence.
Genocide, ethnic violence, or attempted destruction of specific populations:
- Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during and after World War I
- Cambodia during the late 1970s
- Tutsi in Rwanda in the 1990s
- Ukraine in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s
World War II was a global conflict that affected and changed not only the lives of soldiers fighting the war but also those of civilians living in war zones. The scale of the war encompassed three continents and millions of people. Just like the First World War, World War II was a "Total War." Both sides mobilized the entire population to support the war effort and shifted their economies to focus on war production. With the increased development of industrialized weapons like tanks, airplanes, and bombs and the legacy of WWI's stalemate, militaries on both sides focused more on attacking civilians over soldiers, resulting in over 40 million civilians deaths compared to 20 million soldier deaths in WWII. Though the Axis and Allied Powers both attacked civilians, Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan are infamously known for their "crimes against humanity." To end the war in Asia, the United States unleashed the first atomic bombs, resulting in the most instant civilian deaths and urban destruction ever achieved by a single explosive.
Fill out the graphic organizer by following the links below to learn about the mass atrocities in WWII by both the Allies and Axis powers but also learn about Mass Atrocities before and after.
Fill out the graphic organizer by following the links below to learn about the mass atrocities in WWII by both the Allies and Axis powers but also learn about Mass Atrocities before and after.