Context
The rise of extremist groups into power led to the attempted destruction of specific populations in acts of ethnic violence and genocide. The goal of these mass murders was often to destroy a group of people to remove them from a population.
What factors did extremists use to target groups?
- Ethnicity
- Religion
- Race
- National origin
- Political affiliation
- Sexual orientation or gender identity
What factors contributed to mass atrocities in the 20th century?
- New weapons allowed for mass killings of populations
- The rise of extremist groups into positions of power
- Legacy of colonization and imperialism
- Industrial weapons killed at a larger scale
What were the significant consequences of mass atrocities in the 20th century?
- Millions of people died in acts of violence
- The creation of new long-term historical hatreds
- Long-term generational traumas created
Examples of 20th-century mass atrocities
Below are some of the most notorious mass atrocities of the 20th century.
Armenian genocide
Ukrainian famine
The Holocaust
The Rape of Nanjing
Cambodian genocide
Rwandan genocide