To Kill A People: Genocide in the Twentieth Century

John Cox
6:30 p.m. Tues, Mar. 20, 2018, UNC Charlotte Center City

Cox is associate professor of world history and comparative genocide in the Department of Global Studies. He is director of the Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights (HGHR) Studies and administers the department’s minor in HGHR Studies.

The well-meaning but hollow term “Never again” has been invoked repeatedly since the Holocaust, yet genocide has continued to plague our world. What are the social, historical, and cultural forces that produce genocidal violence – and how can seemingly normal humans engage in such cruel, depraved crimes? Numerous books have been written on genocide in the last 20 years, but To Kill A People offers a different, more integrated and timely approach. The book includes four case studies – the Armenian, Nazi, Cambodian and Rwandan genocides – and substantive introductory and concluding chapters that highlight other genocidal atrocities such as the US-Vietnam and Yugoslav wars.

Cox analyzes the different factors that lead to genocide such as nationalism and imperialism, war, and individual and collective delusions and fears. To Kill a People is a warning against racism and xenophobia, and also offers insights into the possibilities of resistance and human solidarity.