Why we remember

There has been many horrible acts that have been committed in the history of humanity. The one that is probably the most frightening is what we call Genocide. By definition, genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or religion. This kind of crime was not officially brought to the world's attention until the end of World War II, when the Allied powers became aware of Nazi Germany's attempt to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe. This genocide (which is known as the Holocaust) is probably the most well-known. From the end of World War II to the present day, many historians and scholars have studied this horrible tragedy to unravel how and why it happened, and who was responsible. However, one thing that has never been in doubt is that the roots of the Holocaust go back a lot farther than many of us want to acknowledge. In fact, one could argue that the Nazis were not the only people responsible for the crimes that were committed during the Holocaust (or Shoah as some people call it). This is because, the Holocaust was not the first genocide nor was it the first genocide that was brought to the world's attention.

From the beginning of the 20th century to the start of WWII, at least four different acts of genocide were conducted. They were, the Herero and Nammaqua genocide in Namibia (1904-1908), the Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey (1915-1922), the Holodomor in Ukraine (1932-1933), and the Nanking Massacre (1937-1938). The atrocities were the direct results of the concept of ethnic cleansing and racism. They may have happened for different reasons and were committed by different people. But the results were still the same. In other words, hundreds of thousands of people were murdered in these atrocities. And yet, the roots of the Holocaust still do not begin at any of these genocides. They go back even further.

Many of the methods that the Nazis used were directly inspired by methods that other nations had used in acts of genocide in the 18th and 19th centuries. At least two major examples are the African Slave Trade and the Trail of Tears. The African slave trade involved the enslavement and trafficking of human beings. Many nations including the USA were involved with the slave trade until it was declared illegal by international law. The Trail of Tears is basically what one would consider a death march (a forced march where prisoners of war or deportees with intent to kill, brutalize, weaken, and/or demoralize as many of the captives as possible along the way). It is considered today as one of the most shameful acts of the American government.

Ever since the end of World War II and the Holocaust, many genocides have taken place all over the world. In countries like Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia, Sudan, Bangladesh, Iraq, and Syria, millions of people have been murdered in the name of ethnic cleansing and racial hatred. They serve as a direct testimate to this quote by George Santayana, "Those who cannot learn from the past are doomed to repeat it". Those who truly care about their fellow human beings would heed this words. This is why it is imperative to acknowledge and to remember horrible atrocities like the Holocaust. The more we learn from the past, the better prepared we are for the future. If the new generation takes the time to remember the past than there is hope for humanity to have a better future. When that is done, the victims of genocide will not have died in vain.