Ultranationalism and crimes against humanity

1
Chapter 7

• Ultranationalism and crimes against humanity

2
Chapter Issue

• To what extent can the pursuit of
  ultranationalism lead to crimes against
  humanity?
  
• What are crimes against humanity?
• How has ultranationalism lead to crimes against
  humanity?
  
• What are some contemporary consequences of
  ultranationalism?

3
Crimes against humanity?

• Crimes against humanity refers to the
  widespread or systematic attacks against a
  civilian population murder, extermination,
  enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, torture,
  rape or sexual slavery, enforced disappearance of
  persons, and the crime of apartheid.

4
Contd

• Genocide refers to the killing of members of a
  national, ethnic, racial or religious group
  causing serious bodily or mental harm to members
  of the group and deliberately inflicting on the
  group conditions of life calculated to bringing
  about its physical destruction

5
Contd

• War Crimes refers to the wilful killing,
  torture, or inhuman treatment wilfully causing
  great suffering and intentionally directing
  attacks against a civilian population or against
  those who are involved in a humanitarian or
  peacekeeping mission.

6
ICC

• The ICC stands for the international criminal
  court and this is the organization that decided
  and wrote the previous 3 definitions.
  
• It was established by the UN and tries and judges
  people accused of the most serious crimes of
  international concern

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Ultranationalism and crimes against humanity

• A serious concern associated with
  ultranationalism that can lead to crimes against
  humanity is bigotry and racism (which is a type
  of bigotry).
• A bigot is someone who treats a group, or its
  members, with disdain or contempt simply because
  they are members of that group ? whether because
  of race, ethnicity, religion, or nationality.

8
Contd

• When a bigot or racist treats a group of people
  with contempt they have taken the first step
  towards inhumane treatment and segregation of
  that group.
• Often, they wish to deny the group their rights
  that should be associated with citizenry and
  humanity.
  

9
Turkey 1915 Genocide Case study

• IN 1914 in Turkey an ultranationalist political
  party called the Young Turks controlled the
  Ottoman-Turkish government issued order to
  massacre Armenians ? including
• Exterminate all males under 50, priests, and
  teachers leave girls to be Islamized
  
• Claim remaining family members of escapees and
  cut off any former connections
  
• Kill off anyone in the Armenian army.

10
Contd

• The actual orders were executed April 24, 1915
• This was state sponsored genocide
• Fewer than 100000 out of the 2 million former
  Armenians survived (1 in 20 survived ? 1, or
  maybe 2, out of this class!)
  
• An author, Robert Fisk, claims that this action,
  and the subsequent lack of consequences became a
  model for Hitler during WWII.

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Famine in the Ukraine

• In order to stem Ukrainian nationalism Stalin
  (leader of Soviet Union) targeted the Breadbasket
  of Europe.
  
• Kulaks, prosperous Ukrainian farmers, were
  ordered to turn over their land to the state
  (communism) yet continue to work it.
  
• When they resisted, Stalin ordered their grain
  and seeds seized and their borders locked down
  (no one in or out and anyone hiding seed or grain
  or not cooperating was executed)

12
Contd

• By the time Stalin was done he had full granaries
  in Russia which he used to trade and finance his
  army and feed his supporters.
  
• Between 3-7 million Ukrainians' are estimated to
  have starved as a result of this (in just one
  year! ?1932-33).
  
• Ukrainians call this the Holodomor.

13
Nazi Ultranationalism and the Holocaust

• Read the Impact section on pages 166 167 and
  discuss the exploration questions
  
• Jewish people, Slavic people, homosexual men,
  people with disabilities, freemasons, and
  Jehovahs witnesses were exterminated in death
  camps as a result of Hitlers dreams of a pure
  race. (Well over 6 million people)

14
Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• Even at the time there was debate about dropping
  the atomic bombs on Japan.
  
• Some felt that due to the Japans societal values
  as a warrior nation, they would have never
  surrendered and the bombs saved lives in the long
  run.

15
Contd

• Others disagreed and said that the war was coming
  to a close and these were no longer mandatory
  measures to save American lives.
  
• Or maybe they should have given warning or
  demonstrated the potential in an uninhabited
  region
  

16
Contd

• Read pages 168 and 169
• Based on what we have discussed and what you have
  just read, what do you think about whether or not
  dropping the Atomic bombs should be labeled a war
  crime?

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Contemporary consequences of Ultranationalism

• We have already discussed the ICC.
• It is a court of last resort and will not act if
  a national court fairly tries people accused of
  these heinous crimes.
  
• At least 105 countries have signed on (including
  Canada) but, however, not all nations are
  signatories (agree to attend/adhere to the ICCs
  decisions)
• These nations include China, India, Pakistan,
  Turkey and Indonesia. Oh yeah . . . And the US!

18
Serbian Ultranationalism and Sarajevo

• Read page 171 about Slobodan Milosevics ethnic
  cleansing of non-Serbians.
  
• Ethnic cleansing the friendlier nickname used
  by Milosevic to commit genocide and expel
  non-Serbians.
  

19
Louise Arbour

• Read making a difference on page 172 to read
  about this Canadian who has made a large impact
  on the international community.
  
• Answer the explanation questions.

20
Rwanda

• Home of two ethnic groups the Hutus and
  Tutsis.
  
• There have been decades of civil conflict here
  based on their history.
  
• In April 1994 a plane was shot down with
  president Juvenal Habyarimana.

21
Contd

• Although the assailants were never identified the
  Hutus blamed Tutsi extremists and this sparked a
  slaughter where 10 of Rwandas population ended
  up dead (800000 people)
• More than 90 of the dead were Tutsis.
• This sparked a debate about whether the UN, who
  had peacekeepers there, should have done more?
  
• Should the UN utilize peacemaking and interfere
  in international affairs or peacekeeping to hold
  things at bay as best they can until things are
  resolved?

22
Good in the Face of Evil

• Sometimes ordinary people do extraordinary things
  in the face of the atrocities going on around
  them.
  
• Oscar Schindler is such a man Although he used
  Jewish slaves to his benefit, when they were to
  be taken to death camps he did all in his power
  to save those in his employ (1200).
• He lied, charmed, bribed and spent his fortune to
  save Jewish people. He even rescued a 1000
  others that had already been sent to the camps.

23
Contd

• Feng Shan Ho is another this man issued visas
  to anyone hoping to flee Austria, regardless of
  whether they were coming to China
  
• The important thing for him was that they could
  escape!
  
• In order to flee you needed visas and a boat
  ticket and few countries, including, Canada
  accepted Jews hoping to flee from German occupied
  countries.

24
Contd

• Paul Rusesabagina, whose life was dramatized in
  the movie Hotel Rwanda, was of mixed Hutu and
  Tutsi heritage and he stayed at his hotel to
  protect and harbor approximately 1200 people
  during the conflict.

25

• Need three readers for page 177 and answer the
  Your Turn question in your daily log.

26
Chapter Review

• Do the think, participate, research and
  communicate questions on pages 178 179 of your
  textbook.