6.6 Chapter Summary
Key Summary Points
- Genocide refers to certain acts (outlined in the UN International Criteria for Genocide) that are committed with the purpose of destroying a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
- Those victimized by genocides are deliberately targeted because of their real or perceived membership to a particular group.
- Various genocides committed against distinct minority groups throughout history (e.g., Armenians, Jewish people, Tutsis, Indigenous peoples in Canada) have claimed the lives of millions of people and resulted in the displacement and trauma of those who survived.
- Understanding the common characteristics of genocides, as well as the factors that lead up to them, is critical to prevent future atrocities.
Additional Resources
Additional Viewings
CBC. (2012). We were children [Video]. CBC Gem. https://gem.cbc.ca/media/we-were-children/s175
CBC News. (June 22, 2018). Separating children from parents: The Sixties Scoop in Canada [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/_nmd6HXKXYU
Clod, L. (2015). Genocide worse than war full length documentary PBS [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/vsMe7QvqpaU 
(Warning: This is a very difficult documentary to view).
Fairfax Network – Fairfax Country Public Schools. (January 28, 2016). Surviving the Holocaust: Full show [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/ayN-IhDYBBQ
LADbible TV. (October 24, 2021). I saw people being beheaded and eaten by dogs [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/owNlSNNd7tw(Warning: A survivor’s story that is very difficult and distressing to listen to).
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (January 13, 2014). The path to Nazi genocide [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRcNq4OYTyE&t=8s (Warning: The content of this video may be difficult to watch).
United Nations. (September 5, 2019). The Genocide Convention: A Call for Action [Video]. Kaltura. https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/index.php/extwidget/preview/partner_id/2503451/uiconf_id/43914941/entry_id/1_et29yipm/embed/dynamic
Additional Readings
Deer, K. (September 29, 2021). Why it’s difficult to put a number on how many children died at residential schools. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/residential-school-children-deaths-numbers-1.6182456
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). (2019). A legal analysis of Genocide: Supplementary report. https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Supplementary-Report_Genocide.pdf
Staniforth, J. (June 10, 2015). ‘Cultural genocide’? No, Canada committed regular genocide. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/06/10/cultural-genocide-no-canada-committed-regular-genocide.html
Taylor, A. (October 16, 2011). World War II: The Holocaust. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/10/world-war-ii-the-holocaust/100170/ (Warning: Very difficult images to view).
United Nations. (n.d.). Genocide. Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect. https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/genocide.shtml
Wiesel, E. (1972). Night. New York: Hill & Wang. (Warning: This book is a difficult read).
