Similarities And Differences Between The Holocaust And Cambodian Genocide

The Cambodian Genocide and Holocaust: Comparison and Contrast The intentional killing of a large group of people, typically due to ethnicity, race or religion is known as genocide. In the Holocaust and Cambodian Genocide, many innocent people were murdered in hopes of a “perfect population”. The Holocaust began in 1933 in Germany when Adolf Hitler rose to power. Hitler and members of the National Socialist German Workers Party committed the massacre of genocide. The massacre was committed against those of Jewish background, different religions and homosexuals, along with the handicapped and children/elders who were unable to work. Hitler ordered the Holocaust in hopes of rebuilding the government from economic depression and creating one, …show more content…
Both of the genocides occurred because of the government but with different mindsets and reasons. The “perfect population” of the Cambodian Genocide had a goal of “nationalizing the peasant farming society,” while the Holocaust had the ideal of creating a pure, healthy race and getting rid of the Jews, because they were seen as a “deformity in the body of politics” (“Cambodian,” “Reasons”). The Slavs were seen as slaves, while the Franks/Latin’s were seen as part of the working class, and the Aryans were seen as the most advanced ethnic group (“Holocaust Causes”). Hitler and the Nazis viewed the Aryans to be the highest, most advanced ethnic group. Therefore, they committed a mass killing to rid of anyone who was not of the Aryan descent. Anyone with different religious beliefs and ethnicities were murdered too, even those unable to work were murdered. The “perfect population” during the Cambodian Genocide differed a little. The “perfect” society was those that work as laborers. People were executed if thought of sabotage. The prisoners’ ability to work determined their survival. If the prisoners couldn’t perform daily labor, they were killed. Professionals in any field were murdered, they abolished political and civil rights. Families were separated into different labor camps. Hospitals and places of learning were all shut …show more content…
The obvious effect of the genocides was the numerous deaths and dispersal of survivors. After the Holocaust, between 7 and 9 million people were displaced from their homeland and they had nowhere to return home because their towns had all been destroyed. The Jewish families had all been separated and most were unable to get back together as one family (“Aftermath”). The Holocaust resulted in millions of deaths and many families separated forever. These families were separated at selections and never met up again. Those killed during the Holocaust were of all ages. Therefore, the survivors were of all ages. For the Cambodian Genocide, in just three years, over 25% of the population was wiped out. A total of over two million people died (“Cambodian,” “Talking”). Those killed during the Cambodian Genocide were all the people that were educated and could possibly overthrow the government. The Khmer Rouge devastated the country, killing over two million people with the ideal mindset to have a strong farming economy. By the end of the Cambodian Genocide, all the survivors were those that were young and uneducated, therefore, the population did not have wise leaders and elders. The Holocaust and Cambodian Genocide showed similar forms of punishment and had similar affects relating to the aftermath and