Preview

Bosnian Rwandan Genocide Comparison Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
828 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Bosnian Rwandan Genocide Comparison Essay
Discuss and Analyze the similarities and differences between the genocide committed in Rwanda and Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

The Rwandan and Bosnian Genocides were more similar than different due to the fact that both were supported by the governing force at the time, and both were ignited due to past tensions between two separate ethnicities. The Rwandan and Bosnian Genocides were similar in the fact that both were supported by the ruling force at the time. The Rwandan Genocide, was organized by the newly created Hutu government, while the Bosnian Genocide, was executed by the Bosnian Serb Army with support from the Yugoslav Army. In Rwanda, the government was formerly controlled by the minor (10%) Tutsi. The Tutsi were given this elevated position by the colonizing Germans, who viewed them as superior due to them having more "European" characteristics, i.e. lighter skin and taller build. When the Belgians to over Rwanda, the role was solidified with identity cards which labeled each person a Tutsi or a Hutu. When Belgium saw Rwanda as collateral when the people began to revolt, they switched the role of the two classes, leaving the Tutsi at the mercy of the Hutu. The government was now controlled by the Hutu, who started the rebellion when their president was shot out of the sky. The ruling force of the country started a genocide, which would kill at least 500,000 people. Yugoslavia was originally a large state with differing ethnicities of people. Each group wanted a different form of government when the dictator, Marshall Tito died in 1980. The Croats wanted a non-Communist government, while the Serbs wanted a Communist government. When Croatia and Serbia announced their independence, the problems only grew. When the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina declared independence, the wars began. The Serbian Army at the time was directly under control of the Serbian leader, Milosevic, Slobodan. On, order, the army began to take back Bosnia, committing horrors as they

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Before beginning to analyze the similarities and differences between the perpetrators, one may first discuss the causes of the genocides. Firstly, the Rwandan genocide and the stories surrounding it have led to a birth of different explanations of the crime. According to Hintjenns, some of these interpretations include colonialism, ethnic and analytical conflict, economic and social crisis (Hintjens). Many have argued that even as all these were contributing factors, the main cause of the Rwandan genocide was the involvement of both the Belgian and the German colonial policies (Man 2005). The two main ethnic groups in Rwanda, the Hutus and the Tutsis lived in harmony for many years, but with the new born idea of “divide and rule” brought by…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the middle of the 20th century the biggest and the most known genocide known as the holocaust took place which had very severe affect on this world. By definition a genocide is a “considered massacre or killing of an enormous group of people particularly those of a specific group or country”. There are several other types of cases of genocides which have took place throughout the history. An other example of a genocide that has occurred is the Bosnian Herzegovina genocide. There are some similarities and some differences in these two totally unlike events.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Genocide is the systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group. In Germany during World War II a man named Hitler tried to eliminate any race except for what he called the "Arian" race. In the process he committed genocide by killing off 6 million Jews and a total of 8 million people in all. Europe was going through some very hard times during the mid 1900's so that no one was able to see a disaster such as the Holocaust coming. Many things led to the weakening of Europe at the time. The Ottoman Empire was breaking up plus they were still trying to get over the devastation of WW I. Bosnia and Herzegovina had been having many problems as well. They were a witness to much change and devastation ever since the early 1900's when they became merged as Yugoslavia with three distinct ethnic groups. In the middle of WW II the axis powers split Yugoslavia into two separate pieces, pinning one side in conflict and war against the other. By the end of WW II a man named Josip Tito, a Croatian Communist created a pact between the two fighting sides. This lasted until 1960 when Tito granted Muslims a distinct ethnic status in society as an effort to put them on equal grounds with the Serbs and Croats. After Tito's death conditions got bad. The Serbs gained most of the power and began killing off the weaker non-Serb peoples. The situations between Germany and Bosnia are quite different, however, there is a strong resemblance as well. It is highly unlikely that another Holocaust would ever occur again as long as the memory of the catastrophe is not forgotten.…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As one sets out to contrast genocides and holocausts, it is difficult to remain objective. Yes, there are differences, mainly semantic, between these two horrible acts. However, the fact remains that both terms are used to describe massive killings done with the intention of destroying an entire race of people. Genocides and holocausts are nauseating both in motivation and in the scale of their destruction. Both should never, ever happen again.…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The events of both Rwanda and the Holocaust were equally horrific parts of history that will never be forgotten.…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Despite the fact that they had a few likenesses regardless it was a few contrasts in the genocides. The holocaust followed individuals in light of race. The Cambodia genocide was based off of insight and how brilliant a man was or they learning of life. The holocaust was attempting to execute individuals in the camps Cambodia was utilizing them as free work. The holocaust was attempting to accomplish an impeccable race Cambodia was attempting to accomplish a flawless…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Conflict in Rwanda was caused by many actions throughout history and resentment and anger being built up which led to one swift cruel act - genocide. The road to genocide begins with labels, or classification. The people who brought these racist ideas to a once peaceful Rwanda in the first place were Belgian colonists who believed the white race was superior. Rwanda became a colony of Belgium in 1914, and, gained independence from Belgium in the 1960s (“Year of Africa”). Following Rwanda gaining independence from Belgium began the dispute to figure out who would rule Rwanda after the Belgians left and there was no one the favor, the Tutsis. This was when the genocide broke…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Every case of genocide and mass murder has its own story and anotherness, they also didn’t happen in the blink of an eye. The perpetrators of these events have always had a fundamental reason to what led them to execute such gruesome crimes. Most may know, the German holocaust and the Rwandan genocide are the two most known and most terrible violation of human rights because of the amount of people that were killed and the way in which these murders were performed. This essay is a discussion of key similarities and differences of the roles of perpetrators in the two case studies; Rwandan genocide and the German…

    • 109 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    "There bodies cast to the side like garbage, left to rot in the sun". The sheer hatred that both groups of antagonists (Hutus and Nazis) had towards the opposing class was insane. Both genocides were not only almost unfathomable in scale, but also extremely efficient. In the Holocaust many neighbors and friends sold others out to the Nazis just like how those in Rwanda went to kill their neighbors. Both of the excerpts contain many differences and similarities between the details of the genocides…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Rwanda is a small land-locked nation, about 26,338 square kilometres in size, bordered by Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Tanzania. Though mainly flat, the country has a large mountain range on its northwest coast – the Virunga Mountains – that are home to the famous Rwandan Mountain Gorillas. In 1994, this seemingly insignificant country put itself on the world map, but for all the wrong reasons.…

    • 2093 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Yet, only years after the Nazi-era, millions were sent to their deaths in places such as Cambodia, Bosnia, and Rwanda, and the world once again took too long to act.”(BrainyQuote.com , Allyson Schwartz, (n.d.), #1) The Bosnian Genocide had many causes that led up to it starting in 1992 when Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia. The Bosnian Genocide occurred because of Serbian leader, Slobodan Milosevic, the province of Serbia did not want the nation of Yugoslavia to break apart, and there were also religious tensions between the nations.…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Rwandan genocide was an atrocity that marked an age of unrest and violence in Central Africa. A nation unbalanced for years had finally imploded, leading to the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of Tutsis. This genocide was the result of multiple things, creating instability and unbalancing the relationship between the Tutsis and the Hutus. Tensions built up for decades were finally released. While many would blame Belgium, Germany, and colonization for catalyzing the genocide, there were many other factors involved, including structural oppression, the rise of the Rwandan Patriot Front, and most notably propaganda spread by the Rwandan Radio; proving that while colonialism may have played a large role…

    • 1330 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Rwanda Genocide

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Genocide, the mass murder of a specific group of people. Rwanda, a small country about the size of Maryland, USA, located near the equator, it shares borders with Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic Of The Congo. In April to July of 1994, Rwanda went through genocide. The manslaughter of five hundred thousand to estimated about one million Tutsi had persevered for only one hundred days. The capital of Rwanda is Kigali, Rwanda, currency is the rwandan franc, and life expectancy is forty years old.The method of human communication in Rwanda is Kinyarwanda, French, English, Kiswahili. In 1994, the country's population had about seven million people there was about eighty five percent Hutus, fourteen percent tutsi and one percent Twa.…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Genocide In Bosnia Essay

    • 1418 Words
    • 6 Pages

    By the End of the Cold war the world had already seen the end of hundreds of wars and countless violations of human rights. With witnessing, these events substantial progress had been made to defining what human rights are and what constitutes a violation to human rights. The first of theses inalienable human rights being the biblical right to life. Several Non- governmental organizations dedicate their time and energy to maintaining a close watch over the world to report on any and all violations of human rights. An example of an area where non -governmental organizations have been relentless in their efforts to end human rights violation was in Bosnia in the early 1990’s.…

    • 1418 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1994, 800,000 Rwandan people were killed in just 100 days. This makes the Rwandan genocide one of the worst genocides in history. The Rwandan people, which consist of the Twa, the Tutsi and the Hutu, all speak the same language and had been living together with only minor conflict between the groups until 1959 (“Rwanda genocide of 1994”). In 1959, tensions flared when the Hutu people attacked the Tutsi in retaliation for the Tutsi supposedly killing a Hutu leader (“Rwanda genocide of 1994”). Over the next thirty-five years, the Hutu abolished the Tutsi monarchy and rose to power (“Rwanda genocide of 1994”).…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays