Genocide The eight stages of genocide as defined

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Genocide The eight stages of genocide, as defined by Gregory H. Stanton, President, Genocide

Genocide The eight stages of genocide, as defined by Gregory H. Stanton, President, Genocide Watch Source: http: //www. genocidewatch. org/genocide/8 stagesofgenocide. html © 1998 Gregory H. Stanton. Originally presented as a briefing paper at the US State Department in 1996.

GENOCIDE: Think About it… What is genocide? Where has it occurred? WRITE NOW! Discuss

GENOCIDE: Think About it… What is genocide? Where has it occurred? WRITE NOW! Discuss with your table. Record your group’s responses to these questions, as well as upcoming questions, in your Reader’s Notebook.

What are the eight stages of genocide? Classification Symbolization Dehumanization Organization Polarization Preparation Extermination

What are the eight stages of genocide? Classification Symbolization Dehumanization Organization Polarization Preparation Extermination Denial

Stage One: CLASSIFICATION Insert Photo Here

Stage One: CLASSIFICATION Insert Photo Here

Stage One: CLASSIFICATION Everyday, we speak in terms of “us” and “them. ” Our

Stage One: CLASSIFICATION Everyday, we speak in terms of “us” and “them. ” Our team and their team. Americans and Iraqis. Christians and Muslims. Straights and gays. This is the first stage of genocide, though it does not mean that every society in which classification occurs will have a genocide. The more “bi-polar” the society is, the more likely a genocide will arise. The more separate the two groups are – physically and ideologically – , the more likely that one will attempt to exterminate the other.

Stage One: CLASSIFICATION RWANDA 1994: Belgian officials distinguish between Hutu and Tutsis by… …

Stage One: CLASSIFICATION RWANDA 1994: Belgian officials distinguish between Hutu and Tutsis by… … measuring their noses and mapping their eyes.

Stage One: CLASSIFICATION WRITE NOW! : Think of one way in which we separate

Stage One: CLASSIFICATION WRITE NOW! : Think of one way in which we separate people in our culture. Do you think this is likely to lead to a genocide? Why or why not?

Stage Two: SYMBOLIZATION

Stage Two: SYMBOLIZATION

Stage Two: SYMBOLIZATION NAZI EUROPE WWII: Jews were forced to wear the Star of

Stage Two: SYMBOLIZATION NAZI EUROPE WWII: Jews were forced to wear the Star of David embroidered on each article of clothing. … and the Nazi regime and supporters wore the Nazi swastika on armbands and flew flags outside of their homes

Stage Two: SYMBOLIZATION NAZI EUROPE WWII: Homosexuals in camps were identified by pink triangles

Stage Two: SYMBOLIZATION NAZI EUROPE WWII: Homosexuals in camps were identified by pink triangles

Stage Two: SYMBOLIZATION CAMBODIA 1975 -1979: Anyone who was not 100% ethnically “Khmer” was

Stage Two: SYMBOLIZATION CAMBODIA 1975 -1979: Anyone who was not 100% ethnically “Khmer” was forced to wear a blue/white checked kroma… …then sent to work camps. The Khmer Rouge soldiers wore red checked kromas and black “pajamas”…

Stage Two: SYMBOLIZATION Once groups are classified, they typically adopt symbols so that they

Stage Two: SYMBOLIZATION Once groups are classified, they typically adopt symbols so that they can be distinguished from each other – either of their own volition to establish their identity or by force so that the dominant group can easily identify them. In some cases – particularly where race or ethnicity is concerned – symbolization occurs even before classification, as the symbols that suggest they belong with a certain group are innate, such as the color of their skin or physical features. Again, this stage is one that does not necessarily lead to genocide.

Stage Two: SYMBOLIZATION WRITE NOW! : Do groups you identified for the last stage

Stage Two: SYMBOLIZATION WRITE NOW! : Do groups you identified for the last stage have symbols that allow them – or others – to tell them apart? If so, what are they? !

Stage Three: DEHUMANIZATION One group denies the humanity of the other group. Members of

Stage Three: DEHUMANIZATION One group denies the humanity of the other group. Members of that group are equated with rodents, insects, other vermin, and even diseases. If this stage takes hold, it becomes more difficult to stop the progression of genocide.

Stage Three: DEHUMANIZATION RWANDA, 1994: Hutuendorsed newspaper caption reads: “The Solution for Tutsi Cockroaches”

Stage Three: DEHUMANIZATION RWANDA, 1994: Hutuendorsed newspaper caption reads: “The Solution for Tutsi Cockroaches” Dehumanization reduces the normal human revulsion against murder…

Stage Four: ORGANIZATION

Stage Four: ORGANIZATION

Stage Three: DEHUMANIZATION WRITE NOW!: Why is it necessary for a dominant power to

Stage Three: DEHUMANIZATION WRITE NOW!: Why is it necessary for a dominant power to dehumanize the victims of a genocide? Why would it be impossible for a genocide to accomplish its goal without this stage?

Stage Four: ORGANIZATION In order for the final stages of genocide to take place,

Stage Four: ORGANIZATION In order for the final stages of genocide to take place, organization must occur. The group that organizes in preparation is typically part of the state due to the amount of financial support required. It can, however, be a terrorist group; because of the amount of organization required, though, any group that successfully organizes a genocide is usually sanctioned - at least to some extent - by a state. To a certain extent, you should think of this stage as the proverbial “calm before the storm. ” The roots of the final stages are beginning to take hold, but very little is actually being done to the victimized group yet.

Stage Five: POLARIZATION “Go where you wanted me to go, you evil spirit. ”

Stage Five: POLARIZATION “Go where you wanted me to go, you evil spirit. ”

Stage Five: POLARIZATION During this stage, the groups are driven even further apart ideologically.

Stage Five: POLARIZATION During this stage, the groups are driven even further apart ideologically. Hate groups begin broadcasting propaganda with greater frequency, and laws typically are enacted to forbid any sort of relations between the two groups. At this stage, it is not just the victimized group that suffers. Any “sympathizers” or moderates are either threatened or attacked by the dominant, oppressing group.

Stage Five: POLARIZATION WRITE NOW!: Have you ever seen a piece of propaganda intended

Stage Five: POLARIZATION WRITE NOW!: Have you ever seen a piece of propaganda intended to polarize groups? If you have, please describe it. If you have not, please try to imagine what it might look like.

Stage Six: PREPARATION

Stage Six: PREPARATION

Stage Six: PREPARATION Whereas in the previous stage the victimized group was separated ideologically

Stage Six: PREPARATION Whereas in the previous stage the victimized group was separated ideologically from the dominant group, in this stage the victimized group is separated physically from the rest of the society. The victimized group or groups are gathered together, either in ghettoes or concentration camps. At times, they are even forced into a famine-struck area and starved, beginning the seventh stage of genocide. At this stage, the world typically becomes aware of what is going on, whether they actually step in or not.

Stage Six: PREPARATION WRITE NOW!: Assuming that at this stage, the world cannot help

Stage Six: PREPARATION WRITE NOW!: Assuming that at this stage, the world cannot help but notice that the victimized group is being forced from their homes in preparation to be slaughtered, why wouldn’t this be the stage where every genocide ends? This is not a rhetorical question.

Stage Seven: EXTERMINATION The following slides show pictures of dead bodies. They are meant

Stage Seven: EXTERMINATION The following slides show pictures of dead bodies. They are meant to be disturbing. If you do not want to look at these images, please do not. !

NAZI EUROPE WWII: 10, 000 shoes…

NAZI EUROPE WWII: 10, 000 shoes…

Cambodia: 1975 -1979 Cambodians believed that the human soul could not rest in peace

Cambodia: 1975 -1979 Cambodians believed that the human soul could not rest in peace unless the body was buried whole…

Cambodia, 1975 -1979: The Killing Fields… mass graves of victims of Pol Pot and

Cambodia, 1975 -1979: The Killing Fields… mass graves of victims of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge

Stage Seven: EXTERMINATION This is the stage where this process legally becomes genocide. Mass

Stage Seven: EXTERMINATION This is the stage where this process legally becomes genocide. Mass killings occur quickly and systematically. When genocide is sponsored by the state, as it almost always is, the armed forces typically work with well-organized militias to exterminate the victims.

Stage Seven: EXTERMINATION WRITE NOW!: What previous stage or stages allow(s) extermination to happen

Stage Seven: EXTERMINATION WRITE NOW!: What previous stage or stages allow(s) extermination to happen so quickly? If you think that the answer is “all of them, ” please identify which stage or stages most enable the rapidity of the execution. The following image is perhaps the most disturbing of all. Please do look and consider why…

Stage Eight: DENIAL

Stage Eight: DENIAL

Stage Eight: DENIAL If intervention does not occur during the seventh stage of genocide,

Stage Eight: DENIAL If intervention does not occur during the seventh stage of genocide, denial always follows extermination. Mass graves are dug up and bodies are burned; the evidence that the genocide ever occurred is systematically eradicated. Witnesses are bribed, intimidated, or killed. Investigations into the crimes are blocked by the government that committed the atrocities. Typically, the victims of the genocide are blamed for their fates if their disappearance is brought up.

Stage Eight: DENIAL NAZI EUROPE WWII: ü Holocaust Death Camp. Crematoria: ü Destroy the

Stage Eight: DENIAL NAZI EUROPE WWII: ü Holocaust Death Camp. Crematoria: ü Destroy the evidence. (Burn the bodies and the archives, dig up and burn the mass graves, throw bodies in rivers or seas. )

Stage Eight: DENIAL WRITE NOW!: Think about the psychological factors that would contribute to

Stage Eight: DENIAL WRITE NOW!: Think about the psychological factors that would contribute to the effectiveness of the denial. How could someone who witnessed or took part in a genocide come to believe that a genocide had not occurred?

Genocide: a Thing of the Past? (think again…) ü You can find the information

Genocide: a Thing of the Past? (think again…) ü You can find the information in this presentation at: www. genocidewatch. org/8 stages. htm. This website also contains suggestions about how to STOP genocide at each of the stages… ü Images taken from http: //www. calvin. edu/academic/cas/gpa/sturmer. htm , www. yale. edu/cgp/img. html, and various sources found through Google Images, basic slideshow format and contact credited to Princeton HS, Ms. Volz, Mr. Levandowski