The Psychological Aspects Of The Systematic Killings During Genocides Essay

In Rwanda during 1994 Genocide happened between the Hutus and Tutsis. Hutus and Tutsis had disagreements on who will have power which effected the whole population of Rwanda. This leads to the question why there is Genocide in Rwanda? Genocide happened by two clans who caused mass causalities. Others did little to help which caused Genocide to happen in Rwanda.

In history, humans have influenced ways to abuse each other in hateful ways. Because of hate, all miserable things that happen to people relates to mob mentality. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel states, “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.” Throughout history, humanity has seen dignified people pursuing horrendous actions because these individuals got caught up in mob mentality.

Eventually, the victims were sent into gas chambers to be killed. Individuals allowed this to happen, but why? Learned Helpless, Social Identity theory, and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs are psychological concepts that prove why individuals allow human atrocities to happen.

Genocides occur across our globe from the past, but also are not uncommon in the present. Holodomor was a horrible genocide in the Soviet Union from 1932-1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. This cruelty of a slow death by starving was a purposeful act by Joseph Stalin and the leaders at that time. To cease further genocides in our world today, it is imperative to know how this corruption and disaster starts, so it can be prevented in the future. By understanding the Soviet leader’s motives and the lives affected by this famine, this will lead to further comprehension about power and communism. Power corrupts those who are given the authority, infringes upon their morals, and can make them commit horrible atrocities.

“How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don’t think” (Hitler, Mein Kampf). As time passed, there has been many times in history where a genocide has occurred. A genocide is a one-sided massacre from one party toward an ethnic or different group of people. As genocides occurred, questions such as “Why do people kill?” and “How can people allow these atrocities to occur?” are asked. There have been many theories made up as people researched the reason behind genocides. Throughout different centuries in history, genocides such as the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, and the Asian genocide, have occurred because of the negative psychological effects on the people caused by propaganda, corrupted leaders, and differences in ethnic groups.

Throughout history many things have happened that included people who will blindly obey to orders given to them. Events where people have blindly obeyed orders, such as mass killings of innocent people or groups, were called genocides. The people leading genocides were trying to destroy a certain race or ethnic group by either killing them or dehumanizing them. One of the biggest genocide in history was the Holocaust which targeted Jews, disabled people, homosexuals, Jehovah witnesses, etc. The leader of the Holocaust was Adolf Hitler, who had the Germans kill more than six million Jews and many other kinds of people that were not considered the perfect German. People will follow orders blindly because they want to feel powerful or superior, the events relate to an individual's religion or beliefs, and because the individual wishes to appear as obedient.

The term ‘war’ as defined by the Oxford Dictionary is explained as “a state of armed conflict between different countries or different groups within a country” (Oxforddictionaries.com, 2016). The concept of war has created contrasting views on the relationship between war and genocide as well as the effect that war has on genocide. The term ‘genocide’ literally means ‘the killing of a race’ and is arguably the most atrocious crime conceivable (Gunter, 2011). It is a specific term that refers to crimes that are committed against groups with intent to destroy their existence (Ushmm.org, 2016). There are various motives and numerous reasons as to why genocides may occur, however this paper will seek to address the extent to how, if at all, the concept of war being a necessary condition for the occurrence of genocide, as well as looking at correlations between war and genocide using specific examples to determine whether war is a necessary condition or not.

The Pyramid of Hate shows biased behaviors growing in complexity from the bottom to the top. Once people treat the behaviors on the lower levels as the “standard,” then it gradually becomes widely accepted and is no longer questioned. The Pyramid of Hate demonstrates how hate is the cornerstone of genocide and establishes an acceptance of the negative behaviors found at the lower levels of the pyramid. As one gets closer to the point of the pyramid, the extremities of violence increases and thus, people consider these bad ideals normal and genocide becomes imminent. The behaviors at each level, all negatively impact people and can lead to life-threatening consequences.

Imagine a scenario where thoughts of harming your family, leaving your family behind, or even killing them yourself flash through your head, thoughts that if someone had to die you or your family, you would sacrifice your family. If it meant life or death, could someone kill an entire family and think nothing of it, for some people, the answer is yes. At certain points somebody might be able to muster up the willpower to cast their own family aside for survival. When in the Holocaust Elie Wiesel, the author of the memoir Night had to see betrayal all around him because people wanted to endure the entire Holocaust themselves. The people in this traumatic event didn’t care what they had to do to survive; some people would kill their family members just for an extra ration. These people would tear each other limb from limb utterly for a slightly larger chance of survival. When it comes down to it, humans have an innate cruelty within them. When faced with a life or death situation people will do anything to survive. Unfortunately, this cruelty

The film, Radical Evil, by Stefan Ruzowitzky, argues that there is genocidal potential in each of us. Personal responsibility is not lost, but rather shown through the courage to step out or the willingness to conform. Radical Evil attempts to explain conformity through a series of psychological tests such as the Milgram Experiment and the Asch Conformity Test. Through psychologists, sociologists, historians, and primary sources, the film suggests that everyone is capable of murder or genocide given the right environment such as military orders or the atmosphere of war. Essentially, the perpetrator becomes the victim of their own psyche and circumstances. However, allowing the Einsatzgruppen, or any other Nazi affiliated group, to assume

The crime of genocide is one of the most devastating human tragedies throughout the history. And the word genocide refers to an organised destruction to a specific group of people who belongs to the same culture, ethnic, racial, religious, or national group often in a war situation. Similar to mass killing, where anyone who is related to the particular group regardless their age, gender and ethnic background becomes the killing targets, genocide involves in more depth towards destroying people’s identity and it usually consists a fine thorough plan prearranged in order to demolish the unwanted group due to political reasons mostly. While the term genocide had only been created recently in 1943 by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-Jewish legal

Genocide is rightfully seen as one of the most emotionally heavy words in the English language. When many people think of genocide, they might correlate the word to the attempted, and nearly successful, extermination of the Jewish people during World War II. To stand by and watch fellow human beings killing each other because of their race, religion, sexuality, etc., leads many to conclude those who stand by are just as guilty as those who commit the act. Unfortunately, countless horrendous acts are kept silent from the global eye, as the film The Devil Came on Horseback intends to show us. Anne Sundeburg’s 2007 documentary, The Devil Came on Horseback, creatively uses persuasion techniques, which include: the credibility of Marine Brian

Genocide is “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, ethnic, political, or cultural group”. In Rwanda for example, the Hutu-led government embraced a new program that called for the country’s Hutu people to murder anyone that was a Tutsi (Gourevitch, 6). This new policy of one ethnic group (Hutu) that was called upon to murder another ethnic group (Tutsi) occurred during April through June of 1994 and resulted in the genocide of approximately 800,000 innocent people that even included women and children of all ages. In this paper I will first analyze the origins/historical context regarding the discontent amongst the Hutu and Tutsi people as well as the historical context as to why major players in the international

Genocide, a dire event, has been recurring time and time again throughout history. In the past, there was the Holocaust, where Hitler exterminated over six million Jews based on his anti-semitic views. Elie Wiesel, a Jewish author, has become a very influential man in educating the world of the true events of the Holocaust due to his involvement in the disaster. Presently, a genocide is occurring in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, in which according to Cheryl Goldmark, “a systematic slaughter of non-Arab residents at the the hands of Arab militiamen called Janjaweed” has been taking place since 2003. (1) Not only is genocide a tragic historical event, it also continuously occurs today.

Genocide is a term that can be defined as a planned and systematic destruction of whole or parts of certain national, religious, race, ethnic, cultural or political group (Akhavan 21). Genocide is deliberated with a different set of actions for a purpose to destroy an essential foundation of life. Genocide is characterized with the massive killing of members of a group, causing mental or bodily injuries to a group of people, imposing mechanisms to prevent birth, removing particular group children and putting conditions of life in order to bring to an end existence of a particular group. Therefore, genocide is an illegal action and a crime recognized and punishable by international law (Charmy 35). For instance, Rwanda genocide is characterized by ethnic tensions within the country. Initially the definition of the term genocide as by genocide convection only comprised of racial, ethnic, national and religious groups. They argued that inclusion of other groups cannot strengthen but rather weakens it. This definition failed to recognize other groups such as political groups, economic and cultural groups that are essential elements of genocide. Genocide therefore, is generally considered the worst moral crime the ruling authority can commit against those it controls Naimark (2017).