Was The Rwanda Genocide Dbq

C. Introduction

The Rwandan genocide lasted three months and in those three months it is said that 1 million Tutsis were killed. The Holocaust lasted 4 years and 6 million Jews were killed. Bearing this in mind it would be expected that The Rwandan genocide should be extremely well known because of the loss of lives, impact and brutality of the event and the similarities it holds with The Holocaust. The fact is that the Rwandan Genocide is not very well known and is not thought to be in the same category as The Holocaust, where in fact it is.

D. Investigation

The reason that we are able to say that the Rwandan Genocide is of the same category as The Holocaust is because the leaders of both massacres had the same aims and desires. The main

In Source B we see that the Hutu extremists backed up their massacre and killing by saying that what they were doing was an order given to them. They said that they were told to kill all the Tutsis and this made it easier for them to do it, they were not the ones who had to decide what they had to do. They believed that because they were being ordered to kill that there would no consequences that they would have to face. This is similar to Hitler’s ideal in saying that it is natural to be cruel. In Source D, Hitler says that he is only going to be cruel because nature is also cruel; it is therefore a natural aspect of life. He also says that there is not guilt for what he is doing because he will be sending young German men off to the war and there is also a possibility of their deaths so why not be able to kill off the so called “vermin” that were the Jews. These two sources prove that the motive behind the killing and massacre of the Rwandan Genocide and The Holocaust are of the similar reasoning. This only strengthens the question of the two events being of the same

They all experienced similar day-to-day events. The obvious events that they saw were all the killing of their family, friends, acquaintances and strangers. Rwandan sufferers and Jewish sufferers all saw death, not just death but brutal death. Source E shoes how Hutu guards would brutally kill any Tutsi in their house or in the street. There was no care for spectators. They were killed if they were an adult or a child. We also see that women were brutally raped by Hutu guards and they further killed by them. This shows the sick viciousness of the genocide and the attitude towards all the Tutsis. Similarly Source A shows us how the Rwandan Tutsis that were trying to outrun the Hutu Extremists and survive the genocide had to keep moving during the day. It tells us that any little aspect that went wrong could be the end of your life. It also shows us how at the end of the day seeing dead bodies on the fields and in forests was a common occurrence. It was not something that was astonishing or unexpected. This brutality and the way in which the people had to fight for their lives is similar to the way the Jews had to live in the concentration camps that were created to isolate and finally kill all Jews. The Jewish people and all people who the Hitler wanted rid of were sent to concentration camps.