Genocide+and+Human+Nature+The+Horror+and+the+Hope

Genocide & Human Nature: The Horror and the Hope  **//Historian Paul Bookbinder’s Thesis//**  **//“Characteristics of Most Genocidal Societies”//**   **//[from the Facing History and Ourselves Newsletter, Spring 1998]//**   //An exaggerated sense of “the other” rooted in ancient hostilities//   //Lack of an open and effective media//   //Failure on the part of moral leaders to stress values like cooperation, respect, and kindness//   //Failure of the international community to react to early signs of ethnic violence//   //* What other characteristics can you identify from historical specifics? *//  **//Is one of the following theses a more accurate explanation for the Holocaust?//**   **//The Facing History and Ourselves Thesis://**   //Social pressures to conform, brainwashing, intimidation, mob mentality, human nature,// //and other psychological factors created an environment in which genocide occurred.//  **//Daniel Goldhagen’s Thesis://**  //A long history of anti-Semitism in Europe created a background in which deliberate decisions to eliminate Jews// //were made by hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of Germans and Poles. It was not just Nazi threats,// //pressures to conform, or Germans’ “tendency” to obey authority. Many were willing executioners.//  **//Some Key Questions//**  //What is “justice”? What is justice for the victims? What is justice for the perpetrators?// <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> //What has to happen for justice to be achieved?//  <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> //Are there universal standards for “right” and “wrong”?//  <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> //Are there basic human rights that are agreed upon worldwide?//  <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> //Why does genocide happen? Why did the Holocaust happen? Are the answers the same?// <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> //To what extent do Paul Bookbinder’s characteristics of most genocidal societies// //(and your additions to his four) apply to every genocide?// <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> //Are the unique characteristics of each genocide more important than// //the shared preconditions or characteristics? That is, when comparing genocides,// //are the similarities or differences more pronounced?// <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> //What psychological tendencies help explain how and why humans can commit genocidal acts?// <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> //What psychological tendencies help us understand why good people and good governments// //usually have done nothing, or have acted too late, to stop genocidal events?//

<span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 24px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> **//Some Themes Present//** **//in Our Study of Each Genocide//** <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 36px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"> **//The Preconditions & Characteristics of Genocidal Societies//** <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 36px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"> **//The Concept of “The Other”//**  <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 36px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"> **//The Role of the International Community (UN / EU / AU)//**  <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 36px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"> **//The Role of The United States//**  <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 36px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"> **//The Challenge of Understanding Both the Vast Enormity of Genocide//** **//(especially the Holocaust)//** **//and the Individual, Personal Experience//** <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 36px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"> **//Everything Happened Because Individuals Made Choices.//**  <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 36px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"> **//Rescuers Who Helped Save the Targeted Group//**  <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 36px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"> **//Those Who Resisted & Fought the Perpetrators//**  <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 36px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"> **//The Perpetrators’ Denial of Responsibility//**  <span style="display: block; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Candara; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 36px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: -18px;"> **//The Question of Justice//**