The Cambodian Holocaust

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Pol Pot's campaign against his own people resulted in the deaths of between 700,000 and 1 million people, either as a result of execution or illness, from hunger and overwork. The author points out four main reasons why Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge came into power: (1) As a response to French colonialism at the end of World War II, (2) rivalry between Vietnamese and Chinese Communists within the party, (3) Prince Norodom Sihanouk's brutal repression and (4) U.S. economic and military destabilization of Cambodia. The paper stresses the U.S. involvement in each of these reasons.

From the Paper:

"As the bombings only increased after the end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, over 150,000 Cambodian civilians perished. Ultimately, the Cambodian civilians feared U.S. air attacks more than they feared Pol Pot and his severe tactics. Not surprisingly then, Pol Pot came into power. By April 1975, the CPK had taken over the two largest cities in Cambodia, Phnom Penh and Battambang, and defeated Lon Nol. The terror Cambodians received from the U.S. was now over, but they were entering into the holocaust that Pol Pot would bring about."

More papers on The Cambodian Holocaust:

• Comparison Essay # 103477 : "The Holocaust and the Cambodian and Rwandan Genocides"
• Research Paper # 58142 : "Cambodia: The United Nations' Shame"
• Analytical Essay # 145238 : "The Jewish Holocaust"

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