Yorysh, Carl
A Modern Day Holocaust in Iraq
Was the genocide in Iraq a modern day holocaust? During the 1980s, Saddam Hussein had a campaign against a group of people called the Kurds. He used fighters to drop tons of chemically filled bombs onto civilian Kurdish villages. Various chemicals like Mustard gas, and Nerve agents such as Sarin (Pike). The Kurds are a group of people who don’t have their own nation. They live spread across the Middle East and Eastern Europe. They live in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, and the former Soviet Union. They are connected by a unique culture, language, and tradition (Kurdish Times). Iraq was at war with Iran, it was the start of the genocide against the Kurds. The war started between Iran and Iraq over border disputes, religious differences, and political reasons. It was a long brutal war that ended with no victor in a cease fire arranged by the United Nations (Iran Chamber Society). It was the start to a modern day Holocaust. Iraq was at war. The long war with Iran had resulted in many Iranian supported militias inside Iraq. The Kurds in many cases were sympathizers with the Iranians and some had militias that were funded by Iran. The most popular act of genocide committed by Iraq was in the Kurdish city of Halabja. Halabja was a center of activity for Iranian arms deals with Kurdish militia. The city was controlled by Iran and Kurdish militias. On March 16 and 17, Iraqi fighter’s planes dropped bombs filled with chemical weapons on the town of Halabja. Fighting in the area ended soon after (Human Rights Watch). When Hitler came to power he had to deal with groups of people who opposed him which is a direct parallel to Iraq. Hitler used fear to rule over his person which is what Saddam Hussein did. As far as leading the country, Hitler and Hussein used nearly the same tactics, Assassinating opposition, using blunt force to scare his people into submission (History Channel). Although this is the best known incident in Iraq with the Kurds, it’s not even close to the whole story. There are many cases of mass imprisonment, and movement of Kurds to unknown locations, never to be heard from again. Halabja was also not the only chemical strike against the Kurds; dozens of other villages were bombed and burned to the ground. Soldiers would come into towns after the bombings and capture any Kurds they found. In many cases, those to sick to be moved were killed. There were massive relocations of citizens from highly successful economic areas, to southern Iraq. There were huge forced migrations of Kurds in Iraq (Kurdish Times). Germany did similar things in their genocide. They had a secret state sponsored police forces used to transport and oppress the Jewish people. Jewish shops were vandalized and the Jews had to carry ID cards at all times. They were given a curfew. In 1942 Germans started using cyclon B to kill Jews and other undesired people. Later that year they reduced food rations to the Jews and starved them. The most disturbing fact of it all is that in 1942 American journalists had reported mass killings of Jews, and it wasn’t until 1944 that America invaded Nazi occupied France. In the early stages of the Genocide Germany encouraged Jews to get out of Germany through prosecution and political pressure (The History Place). Kurds in Iraq were second class citizens, they were abused by the state sponsored secret police forces and were not given revenue from the massive oil income that Iraq has. It wasn’t until Operation Desert Storm in the early 90s for the western nations to destroy his chemical weapons. During the Kurdish Genocide, the world knew of Iraq’s use of Chemical weapons and of the attacks on civilians but they let it happen because they were enemies with Iran at the time, so they allowed Iraq to use these cruel weapons. Even after word of the attacks on civilian targets got out, the west turned the other check to the atrocities that were happening in Iraq (History Channel). The Kurds were often held prisoner and taken from their homes. They had to be supported by the government of Iraq. They were tortured, starved, raped, killed and destroyed with Chemical weapons (Kurdish Times). A big difference between the two genocides is that the Holocaust had a lot more prep time. The Kurds posed a real threat to Iraq because they were Iranian sympathizers during the war. They had aided Iran with their guerilla forces. Iraq didn’t encourage the Kurds to leave Iraq, they just started killing. They started with bombing cities with chemical weapons, which is much different then Germany (Pike). The transporting of the Kurds from their homes is probably the most striking thing about the Genocide. It is exactly what Germany did to the Jews in the Holocaust. They were taken from their prosperous homes and forced to move to locations where they would live. They had no choice. It was go or get killed by the army. It’s the same exact situation for both groups of people in both genocides. Iraq dealt with the Kurds in a cruel way that rivaled the Nazi ruthlessness (Kurdish Times). A German secret police was used during their war to commit their genocide. They brutally evacuated and moved populations using fear and force. Another common theme is that when Germany expelled the Jews, nobody wanted to take them in. Polish Jews that were evicted weren’t allowed to go into Poland and they had to live on the border of the two countries for several months. (The History Place) Kurdish refugees did not receive warm welcomes in surrounding countries in the Iraqi genocide which is very similar to what happened to Jews during the Holocaust. The west wouldn’t allow refugees into their countries for no good reason. (Human Rights Watch). Iraq starting its bombings on Kurdish cities during the war, but it didn’t stop when the war was over (History Channel). Iraq escalated its genocide after its war with Iran. We can assume that the Kurds were more of a secondary objective for the Iraqis (Human Rights Watch). Germany, on the other hand, did its genocide during the war. Even while they were losing on all fronts they continued to waste their war effort on their genocide. Although the forced labor helped their war effort, their systematic killings didn’t (The History Place). Iraq focused more on its war then its genocide rather. Germany did the same thing. Although they did use their military to commit their genocide, they also fought the war as their primary objective. Many believe if Hitler had conquered the world, he would have done the same thing Saddam did, by focusing his army on the destruction of his enemies. The Kurdish genocide and the Nazi’s genocide were very similar. Although there are differences between the genocides, they were both incredibly similar. Just because it’s not exactly the same as the Holocaust doesn’t mean it’s a modern day one. People are afraid to call it another Holocaust because they don’t want to feel responsible for the deaths of those who they didn’t save. The facts are there and it is obvious that the Kurdish genocide was a mirror of the Holocaust. Now, the Kurds are stronger then ever before. They are closer then ever to having their own nation of Kurdistan and they have more power in government then ever before (History Channel).
Works Cited
Human Rights Watch. 2006. 15 march 2007.Kurdish Times. Mustafa Al Karadaghi, 1990.Man, Moment, Machine: Saddam Hussein and the nerve gas atrocity. History Channel. 2006.Pike, John. Federation of American Scientists. 8 november 1998. 15 march 2007 .The History Place. 1997. 18 march 2007 .
Was the genocide in Iraq a modern day holocaust? During the 1980s, Saddam Hussein had a campaign against a group of people called the Kurds. He used fighters to drop tons of chemically filled bombs onto civilian Kurdish villages. Various chemicals like Mustard gas, and Nerve agents such as Sarin (Pike). The Kurds are a group of people who don’t have their own nation. They live spread across the Middle East and Eastern Europe. They live in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, and the former Soviet Union. They are connected by a unique culture, language, and tradition (Kurdish Times). Iraq was at war with Iran, it was the start of the genocide against the Kurds. The war started between Iran and Iraq over border disputes, religious differences, and political reasons. It was a long brutal war that ended with no victor in a cease fire arranged by the United Nations (Iran Chamber Society). It was the start to a modern day Holocaust. Iraq was at war. The long war with Iran had resulted in many Iranian supported militias inside Iraq. The Kurds in many cases were sympathizers with the Iranians and some had militias that were funded by Iran. The most popular act of genocide committed by Iraq was in the Kurdish city of Halabja. Halabja was a center of activity for Iranian arms deals with Kurdish militia. The city was controlled by Iran and Kurdish militias. On March 16 and 17, Iraqi fighter’s planes dropped bombs filled with chemical weapons on the town of Halabja. Fighting in the area ended soon after (Human Rights Watch). When Hitler came to power he had to deal with groups of people who opposed him which is a direct parallel to Iraq. Hitler used fear to rule over his person which is what Saddam Hussein did. As far as leading the country, Hitler and Hussein used nearly the same tactics, Assassinating opposition, using blunt force to scare his people into submission (History Channel). Although this is the best known incident in Iraq with the Kurds, it’s not even close to the whole story. There are many cases of mass imprisonment, and movement of Kurds to unknown locations, never to be heard from again. Halabja was also not the only chemical strike against the Kurds; dozens of other villages were bombed and burned to the ground. Soldiers would come into towns after the bombings and capture any Kurds they found. In many cases, those to sick to be moved were killed. There were massive relocations of citizens from highly successful economic areas, to southern Iraq. There were huge forced migrations of Kurds in Iraq (Kurdish Times). Germany did similar things in their genocide. They had a secret state sponsored police forces used to transport and oppress the Jewish people. Jewish shops were vandalized and the Jews had to carry ID cards at all times. They were given a curfew. In 1942 Germans started using cyclon B to kill Jews and other undesired people. Later that year they reduced food rations to the Jews and starved them. The most disturbing fact of it all is that in 1942 American journalists had reported mass killings of Jews, and it wasn’t until 1944 that America invaded Nazi occupied France. In the early stages of the Genocide Germany encouraged Jews to get out of Germany through prosecution and political pressure (The History Place). Kurds in Iraq were second class citizens, they were abused by the state sponsored secret police forces and were not given revenue from the massive oil income that Iraq has. It wasn’t until Operation Desert Storm in the early 90s for the western nations to destroy his chemical weapons. During the Kurdish Genocide, the world knew of Iraq’s use of Chemical weapons and of the attacks on civilians but they let it happen because they were enemies with Iran at the time, so they allowed Iraq to use these cruel weapons. Even after word of the attacks on civilian targets got out, the west turned the other check to the atrocities that were happening in Iraq (History Channel). The Kurds were often held prisoner and taken from their homes. They had to be supported by the government of Iraq. They were tortured, starved, raped, killed and destroyed with Chemical weapons (Kurdish Times). A big difference between the two genocides is that the Holocaust had a lot more prep time. The Kurds posed a real threat to Iraq because they were Iranian sympathizers during the war. They had aided Iran with their guerilla forces. Iraq didn’t encourage the Kurds to leave Iraq, they just started killing. They started with bombing cities with chemical weapons, which is much different then Germany (Pike). The transporting of the Kurds from their homes is probably the most striking thing about the Genocide. It is exactly what Germany did to the Jews in the Holocaust. They were taken from their prosperous homes and forced to move to locations where they would live. They had no choice. It was go or get killed by the army. It’s the same exact situation for both groups of people in both genocides. Iraq dealt with the Kurds in a cruel way that rivaled the Nazi ruthlessness (Kurdish Times). A German secret police was used during their war to commit their genocide. They brutally evacuated and moved populations using fear and force. Another common theme is that when Germany expelled the Jews, nobody wanted to take them in. Polish Jews that were evicted weren’t allowed to go into Poland and they had to live on the border of the two countries for several months. (The History Place) Kurdish refugees did not receive warm welcomes in surrounding countries in the Iraqi genocide which is very similar to what happened to Jews during the Holocaust. The west wouldn’t allow refugees into their countries for no good reason. (Human Rights Watch). Iraq starting its bombings on Kurdish cities during the war, but it didn’t stop when the war was over (History Channel). Iraq escalated its genocide after its war with Iran. We can assume that the Kurds were more of a secondary objective for the Iraqis (Human Rights Watch). Germany, on the other hand, did its genocide during the war. Even while they were losing on all fronts they continued to waste their war effort on their genocide. Although the forced labor helped their war effort, their systematic killings didn’t (The History Place). Iraq focused more on its war then its genocide rather. Germany did the same thing. Although they did use their military to commit their genocide, they also fought the war as their primary objective. Many believe if Hitler had conquered the world, he would have done the same thing Saddam did, by focusing his army on the destruction of his enemies. The Kurdish genocide and the Nazi’s genocide were very similar. Although there are differences between the genocides, they were both incredibly similar. Just because it’s not exactly the same as the Holocaust doesn’t mean it’s a modern day one. People are afraid to call it another Holocaust because they don’t want to feel responsible for the deaths of those who they didn’t save. The facts are there and it is obvious that the Kurdish genocide was a mirror of the Holocaust. Now, the Kurds are stronger then ever before. They are closer then ever to having their own nation of Kurdistan and they have more power in government then ever before (History Channel).
Works Cited
Human Rights Watch. 2006. 15 march 2007
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