Genocide/ Human Rights Violations

Hannah Vreeland – Armenian Genocide

Samantha Hutteman – Ukrainian Genocide

Maggie Straight – Tiananmen Square Massacre

World Map

Ukrainian Genocide

Armenian GenocideTiananmen Square

Timeline

• Armenian Genocide – April 24, 1915-1918• Ukrainian Genocide – Fall of 1932-Winter of

1933• Tiananmen Square Massacre – April 15 - June

5, 1989

Armenian Genocide

• Religious conflict between Christian Armenians and Ottoman Empire Muslims

• Armenians sided with Russia, creating resentment

• The Young Turks (ruling group) came up with the genocide plan to purify the state

• Over 1 million Armenians were killed

Armenian Genocide

• Young Turks tried to cover up evidence• Trials were held in 1919 and Young Turks fled

into exile, escaping death penalty• Turkey continues to deny the genocide• Connection to theme: – Events that took place violated human rights– Considered a genocide

Big Names (Armenian)

• Sultan Abdul-Hamid II– Ruler of Ottoman Empire– Killed many Armenians before the genocide– Overthrown by the Young Turks

Big Names (Armenian)

• Young Turks– Overthrew Sultan and became ruling group– Wanted to replace Sultans with a constitutional

monarchy– Known as the Committee of Union and Progress– Started the genocide against Armenians

Visual (Armenian)

Turkey Denies the Genocide

Ukrainian Genocide

• Forced famine• Borders sealed, as a prevention for outside

help• Many peasants forced into state-collective

farms– Starvation– Cannibalism– Worked to death

Ukrainian Genocide

• World was told that no genocide was occurring

• Death toll reached 10,000,000 Ukrainians• Daily death toll peaked at 25,000 a day• Connection to theme:– Forced famine/genocide– Human rights violated

Big Names (Ukraine)

• Joseph Stalin– Sealed Ukraine’s borders in 1932– Forced many peasants into state-managed farms– Ignored the Ukraine’s state of distress

• Walter Duranty– Said that there was no famine present in the

Ukraine– “Russians Hungry, But Not Starving”

Big Names (Ukraine)

• Lazer Kagonovich– Leader of the Soviet Union’s “Wet Affairs”

department– Held mass executions of kulaks– Later became the Commissioner of Mass Murder

Visual (Ukraine)

A headline that denies the Ukrainian Genocide

Newspaper displaying the horrors of the genocide

Tiananmen Square

• April 15 – June 5, 1989• April 15 – Hu Yaobang died.

– Sparked the beginning of the protest.

• Student demonstrators called for change– Goals: Democracy, political reforms, and an end to corruption.

Some called for Deng Xioping to resign.

• Students begin a hunger strike.• May 17 Deng Xioping declared martial law.• Violence resulted in at least 241 dead and 7,000

wounded.

Tiananmen SquareTEXTBOOK RESEARCH

“On June 4… Thousands of heavily armed soldiers stormed Tiananmen Square.

Tanks smashed through barricades and crushed the Goddess of Democracy.

Soldiers sprayed gunfire into crowds of frightened students…”

• May 20 PLA troops attempted to occupy Beijing. Were detained for four days.

• June 3 PLA troops ordered to clear the square.• Citizens became aggressive in Muxidi, Beijing. Soldiers

responded by firing into the crowd.• The few thousand students left in the Square were

given free leave if they left immediately.• Protestors who later tried to reenter the square were

ordered to leave. When they refused, they were shot.• June 5 the PLA was in complete control of Beijing.

Thematic Connection (Tiananmen Square)

Human Rights Violation (REGENTS) Not Human Rights Violation (RESEARCH)

• The lives of the Chinese people were controlled by the government.

• The Chinese people’s right to assembly, free speech, and press were violated.

• They were arrested, beaten, or killed for speaking out against the government.

• The students were criminals by law because many had formed illegal student unions.

• By law, the Chinese people were forbidden from speaking out against the government. The students understood the possible consequences.

• The students were rebels against the government because some students wanted Deng Xioping to resign and an end to the socialist government.. Rebellions are put down by force.

• Students received plenty of warning.• Troops were not the first to become

violent.

Big Names (Tiananmen Square)

• Hu Yaobang– Progressive, relatively liberal views. Moderate policies– Forced to resign from chairman– Death sparked protests

• Deng Xioping– Chinese communist leader. Party elder

• Zhou Ziyang– Sympathetic with students. Support “student

patriotism”– Placed under house arrest after incident

Visual (Tiananmen Square)

Tank Man:Symbol of defiance against the government.

Tiananmen Square:Located in Beijing. Site of Tiananmen Square massacre.

WAOI

• China and Turkey still do not recognize that these events occurred

• The Ukrainian and Armenian genocides happened during vulnerable times