The Acknowledgment of Genocide Research Paper

Due to Germany’s acknowledgment of the Holocaust, it became one of the most well-known genocides in the world. However, not every country acknowledges the genocides that are committed in their country. The acknowledgment of genocide by a country will change how history is written, how the genocide is remembered, and how future generations are taught as well as how education systems teach. The acknowledgment of genocide can lead to many things being changed.

The acknowledgment of genocide by a country will change how history is written because of how rarely some genocides are discussed. The Holocaust is a more well-known genocide than others. There are even museums dedicated to the Holocaust. Although, the Holocaust is very important it is not the only genocide that ever took place.“The Ten Stages of Genocide’’ helps show how a country's response to genocide can change how history is written. It also helps educate on genocides that they may be unfamiliar with. This modern website also helps us recognize genocide in its early stages to help us prevent it. 

The acknowledgment of genocide by a country may lead to genocides becoming remembered because of modern-day memorials. The Holocaust is known due to the many museums and monuments located around the world. A speech given by former President Barack Obama shows how if we recognized Anti-Semitism before the Holocaust we could have prevented it (. It also shows how if we do recognize Anti-Semitism we could teach it to future generations to help write and remember history correctly.

Many people do not remember the California genocide due to the lack of acknowledgment of it by the United States. The United States of America downplays the California genocide as if it never happened. During the California genocide, many people dehumanized the Native Americans that live in the U.S. Many newspaper journalists tried to spread what was happening throughout the world. An excerpt from a journal article during the genocide states how the “war of extermination will continue to be waged between races until the Indian race becomes extinct.” This shows how the United States killed many Native Americans despite that many people do not remember the genocide. 

The poor acknowledgment of the Rwanda genocide can also change how it was remembered. The Rwanda genocide is remembered differently by everyone. A peer-reviewed journal article, “Rwanda’s Post-Genocide Foreign Aid Relations: Revisiting Notions of Exceptionalism.” discusses the aid Rwanda received from foreign nations after the genocide. This journal shows how many people believed a myth about Rwanda benefiting from the aid they received. However, this is not true because the aid would go to the privileged people who lived in Rwanda(African Affairs). This shows how the Rwanda genocide is remembered differently because of the myths that were part of the denial of the genocide.

The response to genocide will also change how future generations are taught and how

education systems teach. Many kids learn about the Holocaust because of its response. However, some kids do not know about some genocides, such as the Armenian genocide. Even though, the Armenian genocide is taught it’s not taught the same. Many people don’t know about Raphael Lemkin. Raphael Lemkin was a Russian lawyer who helped informed people about the Armenian genocide (Naimark). The book, Genocide : A World History by the Oxford University Press discusses how Lemkin believed you could help prevent genocide by making international law. Lemkin may have influenced the making of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. 

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide by the United Nations is a listing of articles that discuss the punishment of genocide. It discusses how genocide is terrible and how they can prevent genocide from reoccuring later. Even though many journalists and historians try to spread the history of genocides; it is commonly taught differently to future generations. The “College Student Reactions to Holocaust Education From the Perspective of the Theme of Complicity and Collaboration” is a journal by Aalai, Azadeh. This journal discusses how college students react to the holocaust(Azadeh). The study shows how each student remembers the Holocaust differently because of how they were taught. This shows how the acknowledgment of genocide will change how it is taught in school. Not every school system teaches all genocides the same. The “Null Curriculum” was created in a school system to help teachers teach other genocides besides the Holocaust. The curriculum was made because a Stanford professor believed all genocides should be taught. Although not all schools use this it shows how the acknowledgment of genocide will change how it’s used in school systems.

Some genocides are more well known than others due to the country’s acknowledgment of them. Although, not every genocide has the same acknowledgment from countries; it could still be remembered incorrectly. The acknowledgment of genocide by a country determines how history is told, how the genocide is looked back on, and how future generations learn about the genocide. The acknowledgment of genocide determines everything we know about the genocide itself.