Unit 5: Human
Rights
WHAT ARE HUMAN
RIGHTS?
• What are basic human rights?
• What are some examples in history you know
or that we have studied so far that relate to
human rights or human rights violations?
• What are some responses by governments to
human rights violations?
Universal Declaration of
Human Rights
• A document drafted by the United Nations in
response to the events of WWII and Holocaust
and adopted by the UN in 1946
• First global expression of rights that all
people are inherently entitled to and cannot
be violated by any one
Universal Declaration of
Human Rights
• Read the handout titled “Universal Declaration
of Human Rights” and answer subsequent
questions on the question handout sheet.
GENOCIDE
• What is your definition of genocide?
• What are some examples of genocides?
• Is genocide a problem of the past? Why or
why not?
• Why do genocides happen?
• Why do “normal people” support regimes that
inflict genocide?
8 Stages of Genocide
• Genocide: The deliberate killing of a large group
of people, esp. those of a particular ethnic group or
nation.
• Ethnic Cleansing: The mass expulsion or killing
of members of an ethnic or religious group in a
society.
• Genocide develops in 8 stages. These 8 stages
explain how governments go about the process of
genocide and how citizens end up supporting these
acts.
Examples of Genocides
• Holocaust
• Armenian
• Rwandan
• Darfur
• Bosnian
• Cambodian
Armenian Genocide
Holocaust
• Kristallnacht: “Night of Broken Glass” November 9-10, 1938 - a series of attacks one
night against Jews in Germany targeting
Jewish owned business and homes.
• Significance: Shows an increase in
violence and persecution against the Jews
in Germany
• Hitler’s “Final Solution” - the ultimate plan to
rid Germany of all Jews using death camps
Symbolization
Dehumanization
Organization
* Nuremberg Laws*
Polarization
Preparation
Extermination
Denial
But what
happens
after?
Holocaust
• Nuremberg Trials: a series of trials trying Nazi’s of
war crimes after WWII in the city of Nuremberg
• Between November 1945 - October 1946
• Include Nazi leading officials, generals, and doctors
involved in human experimentation under Nazi
regime.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWR2I5Q9d9U
• “First they came for the communists, and I did not speak
out—
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak
out—
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not
speak out—
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out —
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—
and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
• - MARTIN NIEMÖLLER
Reflection
• How does the previous quote from Martin
Neimoller relate to the “Who is the Blame?”
questions?
• Based on this quote, would you change any of
your answers on the UDHR - why or why not?
• What does this quote tell us about the dangers
of violating human rights outlined in the
UDHR?
Rwandan Genocide
Conclusion
• Examine the following quote by Enlightenment thinker John Locke “No
one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions …
there cannot be supposed any such subordination among us, that may
authorize us to destroy one another”
• How have global leaders succeeded in protecting these rights? How
haven’t they?
• Agree or disagree? Write your response after the questions about
“Ghosts of Rwanda”
• Anti-Semitism and ethnic hatred remain powerful forces in the 20th
and 21st centuries