To Kill a People Genocide in the Twentieth Century

by Cox, John

• ISBN13: 9780190082772
• ISBN10: 0190082771
• Additional ISBN(s): 9780190236472
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2026-01-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

There have been numerous books on genocide in the last twenty years, but To Kill a People, Second Edition offers a different approach. It is one of the few books on genocide expressly written for use in the college classroom. The book includes five case studies--the Armenian, Nazi, Cambodian, Bosnian and Rwandan genocides--and substantive introductory and concluding chapters that contribute to two key debates within genocide studies: how to define "genocide" and place it in relation to other mass atrocities, and how to detect and analyze the social, historical, and cultural forces that produce genocidal violence.

To Kill a People, Second Edition examines a vast range of the latest research, offers original interpretations and arguments, and draws upon the author's own archival research on three continents. The case studies are supplemented by primary readings and thought-provoking questions, and the book concludes with a chapter that synthesizes the lessons and issues that arise from the study of genocide. A chapter-length bibliographic essay further distinguishes this book and will be useful to students and experts alike.

Author Biography

John Cox is Associate Professor of International Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he directs the Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies. He is the author of Circles of Resistance: Jewish, Leftist, and Youth Dissidence in Nazi Germany (2009).

Table of Contents

Preface
List of Maps
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
About the Author

Introduction
Defining Genocide
Other Disputes over Terminology and Definitions
This Book's Definition
Genocide in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds
Destruction of the Native Peoples of the Americas
The "Century of Genocide"
Modern Imperialism
Mass Atrocities in the Soviet Union and Asia
Post-World War II Genocide
Why Do Humans Commit Genocide?

Chapter 1: The Armenian Genocide
The Armenians
A Decaying Empire Confronts the Modern Age
Erosion of the Empire
The "Young Turk" Revolution
"Young Turk" Nationalism and Racism
April 24: The Decimation of Armenian Leadership
Resistance
Aftermath: Struggles for Land and Justice
Organized from on High
How Many Victims?
Genocide Denial
Conclusions
Primary Sources and Study Questions

Chapter 2: The Holocaust
Anti-Jewish Prejudice in History
Preconditions for the Holocaust: World War I and Weimar Germany
Adolf Hitler and the Birth of the Nazi Party
Elimination of Opponents and Intensification of Repression: 1933-1938
Stages in Anti-Jewish Persecution
World War II
Operation Barbarossa and the "Final Solution"
Auschwitz, "Operation Reinhard," and the Peak of Nazi Genocide
The Nazis' Collaborators and Ideological Soul Mates
The Nazis' Non-Jewish Victims
Jewish Resistance
Bystanders and Rescuers
The End of the Third Reich
Conclusions
Primary Sources and Study Questions

Chapter 3: The Cambodian Genocide
Angkor and Pre-Colonial Cambodia
Cambodia and Indochina under French Colonialism
Emergence of the Communist Party of Cambodia
"Brother Number 1": Pol Pot
Cambodian Politics in the 1950s and 1960s
War in Vietnam and Civil War in Cambodia
Remaking Cambodian Society
Targeting of Minority groups
How Many Were Killed?
"Genocide is too heavy for the shoulders of justice."
Conclusions
Primary Sources and Study Questions

Chapter 4: The Bosnian Genocide
Conclusions
Primary Sources and Study Questions

Chapter 5: The Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan History and European Racial Philosophies
Emergence of Hutu Parties and Independence
Habyarimana's Second Republic
1993 Strife in Neighboring Burundi
Dashed Hopes for Peace
Assassination of Habyarimana and the Descent into Genocide
Rape as a Weapon of War and Genocide
Downfall of the Hutu Regime
Failure of the "International Community"
Rescue and Resistance
Post-Genocide Rwanda
Authoritarianism and War under Kagame
Conclusions: How was it Possible?
Primary Sources and Questions

Conclusions
For an Integrated Approach to the Study of Genocide
The Psyches of Genocidal Perpetrators
Warfare and Genocide
Nationalism, Vulnerability, Perceptions of Grievance and Humiliation
Another Century of War and Genocide?

Bibliographical Essay and Suggested Films
Timeline of genocide and genocidal crimes against humanity, 1900 to present
Credits
Index