The Eight Stages Of Genocide

Genocide is developed through eight different stages that lead to the planned killing of thousands of people. The first stage of genocide is classification. This is the stage where a target group of people are placed into categories and given a title (Rummel). The second stage in genocide is symbolization. During symbolization the target group is now given a name or other insignia to label and show who they are (Rummel). Dehumanization is the third stage of genocide. This occurs when the members are dehumanized and made to feel like they are less than what they actually are. In this stage the target group is treated like animals and called nasty, demeaning names (Rummel). The fourth stage of genocide is organization. This stage consists of the hateful leaders coming together to set up preliminary plans against a certain group of people …show more content…
“The fifth stage of genocide is polarization, a definite boundary is now placed between the in-group and out-group of people” (Rummel). During the sixth stage of genocide, preparation, everything has been prepared to go and plans are set in stone. The leaders are now going to kill the target group (Rummel). The act of mass murder itself is placed into the seventh stage of genocide. In this stage the out-group is attacked and extermination is now underway (Rummel). The final stage of genocide is denial. The perpetrators are now denying the crimes that they are accused of. All evidence is being hidden and a rational explanation is given to explain the mass killings (Rummel). Lastly, the eight generic stages of genocide were put in place to have a guideline to follow in case these massacres were