Genocide

Genocide research papers are custom written on any specific incidence of genocide in history or on the term itself. Have the writers at Paper Masters custom write a research project on genocide.

With its etymological roots in the Greek word "genos" (family or tribe) and the Latin "occidere" (massacre), the word genocide as we now understand it was first used in the early 1940s by the Polish-Jewish scholar Raphael Lemkin. With a definition that was relatively narrow in that it focused attention on national groups (that is, groups attached to a single, definable nation) rather than groups that might be defined by race or a long-established common culture, Lemkin's definition was, at the same time, open enough to underscore that genocide can also be used to describe conscious and systematic attempts to destroy the culture and language of an identifiable group. Despite the horrors that accompanied the attempted genocide of German Jews under the Nazi regime, contemporary culture seems unable to rid itself of the impulse to eradicate a particular "genos," with the devastation of the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda as the most extensive and bloody examples of modern attempts. Regardless of whether the motivation is political, economic, religious, or racial, genocide is never justifiable but should always be responded to and condemned for its dehumanizing and polarizing effects on humanity generally and the global community more specifically.

Throughout history, attempts have been made to eliminate entire groups of people based strictly on their race, gender, religion, or other identifying factor. Though the term was coined in the mid-1940s, it has been applied to countless actions of the past, ranging from the Holocaust to the extermination of Native Americans to actions taken against people in Rwanda. Previously, terms like "crimes against humanity" and "massacre" were used, but those words simply did not carry enough weight to convey they severity of these actions.

Genocide involves more than just removing a group of people; it involves working to completely obliterate their entire existence, including the following:

• Language
• Custom
• Culture
• Heritage

It is a complex, coordinated plan of attack, often involving multiple groups performing a variety of actions. If a group is not completely exterminated, the effects of genocide persist for generations, if not forever; if an entire collection of people are removed from the earth, the history of mankind indelibly suffers.

The first session of the United Nations in 1946 declared genocide to be a criminal action, but no clear definition of the term was provided; this would be developed two years later and implemented three years following. Genocide is said to include killing or causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of a group, preventing children from being born within the group, transferring children from the group to another group, or creating a quality of life for the group that will bring about their demise. The complexity of genocide is apparent, but the significance of the actions and the need for response undeniable.