It’s been happening for centuries: The rape of Nanking. The Ottoman Empire's slaughter of more than 1.5 million Armenians. The murder of more than 9 million revolters by China’s Manchu government in the mid-19th century. And most famously, the Nazis’ horrifying “Final Solution” during World War II.
But it wasn’t until 1944 that this terrifying concept—the deliberate mass extermination of a racial, religious, national or ethnic group—was finally given a name: genocide. As the courts uncovered the depths of the Nazis’ crimes against humanity in the years after the the war, people all over the world were horrified by what had been done to Europe’s Jewish population, and swore never to let such terrible events take place again.
Tragically, it seems we still haven’t learned from our mistakes. In the decades since, we’ve witnessed annihilations of ethnic and religious groups in countries like Cambodia, Rwanda, and East Timor. For over five years, the Darfur region of Sudan has faced one of the worst ethnic conflicts in the world, with estimates of hundreds of thousands dead from disease and government-backed violence. In the 20th century alone, an estimated 39 million people have died in genocide-related killings; one scholar believes death tolls could be as high as 140 million. Clearly, something must be done. But what?
Genocide is an immense and complicated issue, but many nonprofit groups are working within warring regions to provide support to traumatized victims and end the violence. If you’d like to help, here are a few groups that can make a difference with your dollars.
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