Genocide Comparison Essay: Nazi Germany vs. Rwandan Genocide

This essay provides a comparative analysis of two significant instances of genocide in the 20th century: the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany against the Jews and the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 against the Tutsis. The essay explores the origins, similarities, and differences between these events, examining the motivations behind the mass murders, the role of racial hatred, and the methods employed. It references key documents like Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' and the Wannsee Protocol to understand the ideological underpinnings of the Holocaust. The essay highlights the role of the Hutu government in inciting the Rwandan Genocide and compares the timelines, organization, and secrecy surrounding each event. It concludes by questioning whether these genocides are new phenomena and discusses the possibility of ending such atrocities through international cooperation and punishment of perpetrators. The essay uses references to support the claims made and provides an in-depth analysis of the events.

Running head: GENOCIDE
Genocide
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The term Genocide is used to refer to violence carried out against individuals of a
racial, ethnic, religious or racial group that has the intention of eliminating that group.
Genocide is one of the worst crimes to be committed against on humans in the history of
humanity. Thousands of lives had been lost because of genocide in the past. The worst
perpetrators of such crime are said to be the Nazi Germany when they murdered Jews during
World War II. Hitler was responsible for majority of the genocides caused during this period.
The purpose of this essay is to make a comparison between two instances of
genocide – the murder of the Jews by Nazi Germany in World War II and that of the
murder of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994, and to find out how they are similar and different
from each other.
Nazi Germany was one of the worst perpetrators of genocide, killing many Jews
during World War II. During the 1940’s when Germany began to invade other countries, they
killed a large number of Jews not only from Germany itself, but also from Austria, Hungary,
Denmark, Belgium and other countries. This killing reached its extreme when the Germans
invaded Soviet Union. It is said that they killed some 500,000 Soviet Jews with the help of
their mobile killing squad called Einsatzgruppenwould. However, this mode of brutality was
not only limited to the Jews. The Nazis also included other groups like Romas (gypsies),
Poles, Austrians and people with physical disabilities as they were deemed to be useless by
the Germans. Indeed, this was one of the brutal examples of Genocide in the history of
mankind.
Another example of Genocide was the killing of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994. Also,
known among historians as the Rwandan Genocide, this involved mass killings of 500,000 to
1000,000 Rwandans being killed in the Rwandan Civil War, started in the1990’s. It was

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mainly caused by most the Hutu Government during a period of 100 days from April to Mid-
July of 1994.
When a comparison is made between these two instances of Genocide, it is found that
the main cause behind the mass murders are the ruling class’s hatred towards people of other
caste, creed or race. As stated by Strauss (245), in the case of the Holocaust, it was seen that
Hitler killed so many Jews because of his belief that Germans were “Aryans” and hence, they
were far superior than others. It is mentioned in Hitler’s autobiography “Mein Kampf” that he
wanted to make Germany great by purging it of lower caste people like the Jews and the
Romas. It was “The Wansee Protocol” which led to the formulation of “The Final Solution”
that saw many Jews being killed by the Germans. Similarly, when one looks at the Rwandan
Genocide of 1994, it is seen that the incident originated after an unknown missile shot down
Habyarimana’s plane in 1994. It was with the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana that
much of the Hutu Government launched a mass slaughter of 800.000 Tutsis over a period of
100 days till Mid-July. This incident became known as The Rwandan Genocide.
When compared, the similarity between the both the instances is that in each case,
History seemed to repeat itself. In both the instances, it was seen that the main cause was is
demand for racial purity. As stated by Strauss (23), in both the cases, the ruling government
wanted to rid itself of individuals with lower caste and creed. The Nazis wanted to purify
their country of the lower caste Jews while the Hutus wanted to purify their countries of the
Tutsis whom they used to consider as cockroaches. In both cases, Germans as well as Hutus
who helped the Jews and Tutsis to escape were put into concentration camps and punished so
that others do not think of performing such acts themselves.
In the same way, it can be said that both genocides are very different from each other
as well. This is because the Holocaust lasted for 12 years while the Rwandan Genocide

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continued only for 100 days. As stated by Neugebauer (15), during the Holocaust, people
were killed in a more organized way. They were put into gas chambers and extermination
camps where they were either shot or killed by poisoning. On the other hand, in Rwanda,
there was total chaos all around. The government officials provided the children with
machetes and asked them to kill as many Jews as possible and they had to bring back proof in
the form of skulls of the people that they killed. Another major difference was the timeline
between the two instances. As stated by Lipiskus (313), the Holocaust took place around
1940’s while the Rwanda Incident took place nearly 60 years later, i.e. in the 90’s. Lastly, the
Nazis always wanted to keep the Holocaust a matter of secret. On the other hand, in Rwanda,
no one kept the Holocaust a secret after the war. Thus, the incident came to be known widely
by the world.
As stated by Baer (20), the genocides committed in the 20th century are a new
incarnations of the age old methods of inflicting punishment on mankind. It is just the method
that is different here. There have been many instances of torture and punishment on human
beings in the past. Genocide belongs in the category of the above-mentioned acts. Only, it is a
new mode of inflicting punishment on human beings. The 20th Century has been called the
age of Genocides as the world has been to two major acts of Genocide, the first being the
Holocaust of World War II and the second being the Rwandan Genocide.
It is possible to end Genocide. This can be done by informing the United Nation about
such incidents and protesting perpetrators of such actions. Only then, will mankind be able to
successfully end genocide.
Genocide is seriously one of the worst forms of crime that the world has seen. The
governments of different countries as well as the United States should make it a mission to
make sure that there would be no more instances of genocide in the world. Proper measures

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needs to be taken and the perpetrators of the crimes be punished to make sure such an action
never happens again.
Reference List
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Baer, Elizabeth R. "Persistent Legacy: The Holocaust and German Studies ed. by Erin
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Jones, Adam. Genocide: A comprehensive introduction. Routledge, 2016.
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Neugebauer, Richard, et al. "Are Children or Adolescents More at Risk for Posttraumatic
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THE HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT."
Interactions: Explorations of good practice in educational work with video
testimonies of victims of National Socialism 4 (2018): 205.
Straus, Scott. "The Promise and Limits of Comparison: The Holocaust and the 1994
Genocide in Rwanda." Is the Holocaust Unique?. Routledge, 2018. 245-257.

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