The word “genocide” was coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944 to describe the extraordinary events unfolding in Nazi-occupied Europe. However, organized attempts to destroy particular national, ethnic, racial, or religious groups occurred well before the Holocaust and continue to the present day. The editors of Century of Genocide have compiled essays by noted historians and scholars that explore fifteen incidents of the 20th century considered to have been acts of genocide or, at the very least, that constitute actions involving genocidal processes. By highlighting a range of genocides from around the world and across the century, the essays provide the reader with an overview of not only the individual circumstances of each genocide but the common themes shared by these disparate tragedies.
The authors of these articles were asked to address a series of questions posed by the editors, including: Who committed the genocide? Who were the victims, and what was the long-range impact of the genocide on the victim group? How and why was the genocide committed? What have been the responses of individuals, groups, and other nations to this particular genocide? Do people care about this genocide today, and if so, how is that concern manifested?
Another factor taken into consideration was the availability of eyewitness accounts. Only incidents that can be documented by reliable oral testimony are included in this book, and each essay is accompanied by one to four of the most informative eyewitness accounts of the genocide in question, as selected by the author of the article.
The revised second edition of Century of Genocide also includes essays on whether the events in Kosovo in the 1990s constituted genocide, the early warning efforts by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience, and the intervention and prevention of genocide in the future. Two chapters that appeared in the first edition were removed from this edition due to space constraints: one essay on the Soviet deportations under Stalin and one on the genocide of various indigenous groups worldwide.
Century of Genocide includes an introductory essay by the editors, contributor biographies, maps of key locations discussed in the text, references and notes for each article, and an index.
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| TABLE OF CONTENTS | |
| Acknowledgements | vii |
| Map Credits | ix |
| Preface | xi |
| Editors | xvii |
| Contributors | xix |
| Introduction Samuel Totten and William S. Parsons |
1 |
| 1. Genocide of the Hereros Jon Bridgman and Leslie J. Worley |
15 |
| 2. The Armenian Genocide Rouben Paul Adalian |
53 |
| 3. Soviet Man-made Famine in Ukraine James E. Mace |
93 |
| 4. Holocaust: The Genocide of the Jews Donald L. Niewyk |
127 |
| 5. Holocaust: The Gypsies Sybil Milton |
161 |
| 6. Holocaust: The Genocide of Disabled Peoples Hugh Gregory Gallagher |
205 |
| 7. The Indonesian Massacres Robert Cribb |
233 |
| 8. Genocide in East Timor James Dunn |
263 |
| 9. Genocide in Bangladesh Rounaq Jahan |
295 |
| 10. The Burundi Genocide Réne Lemarchand |
321 |
| 11. The Cambodian Genocide -- 1975-1979 Ben Kiernan |
339 |
| 12. The Anfal Operation in Iraqi Kurdistan Michiel Leezenberg |
375 |
| 13. The Rwanda Genocide Réne Lemarchand |
395 |
| 14. Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina Martin Mennecke and Eric Markusen |
415 |
| 15. Genocide in Kosovo? Martin Mennecke |
449 |
| 16. Out of That Darkness: Responding to Genocide in the 21st Century Jerry Fowler |
455 |
| 17. The Intervention and Prevention of Genocide: Where There Is the Political Will, There Is a Way Samuel Totten |
469 |
| Index | 491 |
