The Holocaust

The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored

persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi
regime and its collaborators. "Holocaust" is a word of ree! origin
meaning "sacri"ce by "re."
The Nazis, who came to power in ermany in January #$%%, belie&ed that
ermans were "racially superior" and that the Jews, deemed "inferior,"
were an alien threat to the so-called erman racial community. erman
authorities also targeted other groups because of their percei&ed 'racial
inferiority() ypsies, the disabled, and some of the *la&ic people
+,ussians etc-. .ther groups were persecuted on political, ideological and
beha&ioural grounds, among them /ommunists, *ocialists and
homosexuals.
Though it had ancient roots, Nazi ideology was far from a primiti&e,
medie&al throwbac! - it was capable of appealing to intelligent and
sophisticated people. Hitler appealed with a powerful &ision of a strong,
united and 0racially0 pure ermany, bolstered by pseudo-scienti"c ideas
that were popular at the time.
The persecution and genocide were carried out in stages. 1nitially the
erman go&ernment passed laws to exclude Jews from ci&il society, most
prominently the Nuremberg 2aws of #$%3. 4 networ! of concentration
camps was established starting in #$%% and ghettos were established
following the outbrea! of 5orld 5ar 11 in #$%$. 1n #$6#, as ermany
con7uered new territory in 8astern 8urope, specialized paramilitary units
called 8insatzgruppen were used to murder around two million Jews and
political opponents in mass shootings. 9y the end of #$6:, &ictims were
being regularly transported by freight train to specially built extermination
camps where, if they sur&i&ed the ;ourney, most were systematically !illed
in gas chambers. The campaign of murder continued until the end of
5orld 5ar 11 in 8urope in 4pril<=ay #$63.
5hile these massacres were happening, the Nazis elsewhere were laying
plans for an o&erall 0solution to the Jewish 7uestion0. >eath camp
operations began in >ecember #$6# at *emlin in *erbia and /helmno in
?oland, where people were !illed by exhaust fumes in specially modi"ed
&ans, which were then dri&en to nearby sites where the bodies were
plundered and burnt.
The @inal *olution mo&ed into its last stages as 4llied forces began to
close in on ermany in #$66. The ?ro;ect ,einhardt camps were razed. 4
prisoner wor!-gang called the 9lobel /ommando began digging up and
burning the bodies of those !illed by the Einsatzgruppen. ?risoners
remaining in 4uschwitz and other concentration camps were transported
or force-marched to camps within ermany. Hardly "t for such an eAort,
thousands of prisoners on these death marches succumbed to star&ation,
exhaustion and cold, or were shot for not !eeping up the pace.
Jewish prisoners were concentrated at 9ergen-9elsen, hitherto not !nown
as one of the worst campsB but in the chaotic "nal months of the war
conditions were allowed to deteriorate catastrophically. 5hen 9ritish
troops came across the camp on #3 4pril #$63, they encountered #C,CCC
unburied corpses, a raging typhus epidemic and DC,CCC sic! and dying
prisoners crammed into o&ercrowded barrac!s without food or water.
http)EEen.wi!ipedia.orgEwi!iETheFHolocaust
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http)EEwww.bbc.co.u!EhistoryEworldwarsEgenocideEholocaustFo&er&iewFC#.s
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Apartheid in South Africa
ApartheidB an 4fri!aans word meaning "the state of being apart", literally
"apart-hood"- was a system of racial segregation in *outh 4frica enforced
through legislation by the National ?arty +N?- go&ernments, the ruling
party from #$6I to #$$6, under which the rights, associations and
mo&ements of the ma;ority blac! inhabitants were curtailed and 4fri!aner
minority rule was maintained. 4partheid was de&eloped after 5orld 5ar
11 by the 4fri!aner-dominated National ?arty and
9roederbond organisations and was practiced also in *outh 5est 4frica,
which was administered by *outh 4frica under a 2eague of
Nations mandate +re&o!ed in #$DD &ia Jnited Nations ,esolution :#63-,

until it gained independence as Namibia in #$$C. 9y extension, the term is
nowadays currently used for e&ery !ind of segregation, established by the
state authority in a country, against the social and ci&il rights of a minority
of citizens, due to ethnic pre;udices.
,acial segregation in *outh 4frica began in colonial times under >utch
rule. 4partheid as an oKcially structured policy was introduced following
the general election of #$6I. 2egislation classi"ed inhabitants into four
racial groups, "blac!", "white", "coloured", and "1ndian", with 1ndian and
coloured di&ided into se&eral sub-classi"cations, and residential areas
were segregated. @rom #$DC to #$I%, %.3 million non-white *outh 4fricans
were remo&ed from their homes, and forced into segregated
neighbourhoods, in one of the largest mass remo&als in modern history.
The idea was that 4fricans would be citizens of the homeland, losing their
citizenship in *outh 4frica and any right of in&ol&ement with the *outh
4frican ?arliament which held complete hegemony o&er the homelands.
4ll blac!s were re7uired to carry "pass boo!s" containing "ngerprints,
photo and information on access to non-blac! areas.
Non-white political representation was abolished in #$LC, and starting in
that year blac! people were depri&ed of their citizenship, legally becoming
citizens of one of ten tribally based self-go&erning homelands, four of
which became nominally independent states. The go&ernment segregated
education, medical care, beaches, and other public ser&ices, and pro&ided
blac! people with ser&ices inferior to those of white people
?an 4frican /ongress +?4/- was founded in #$3$. 1n #$DC 4frican and
/oloured representation in ?arliament was terminated. The go&ernment
bans 4frican political organizations. Nelson =andela and other 4N/ and
?4/ leaders sentenced to life imprisonment in #$D6. 1n #$I6, a new
constitution ga&e 4sians and /oloureds but not 4fricans limited
participation in the central go&ernment. >e Mler! became leader of the
National party and then president in #$I$. He unbans the 4N/, ?4/ and
*4/? and releases =andela and other political prisoners in #$$C. 1n #$$6,
the 4N/ won "rst non-racial election. Nelson =andela was elected the "rst
blac! president of *outh 4frica. He formed o&ernment of National Jnity.
4partheid was in crisis in the years #$LI - #$I$. There came domestic
resistance against apartheid. The end of apartheid was really important
stage in *outh 4frica. Nears #$I$ - #$$3 were time of transition.
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Uganda anti-homosexuality Act, 2014
The Jganda 4nti-Homosexuality 4ct, :C#6 +pre&iously called the "Mill the
ays bill" in the western mainstream media due to the originally proposed
death penalty clauses- was passed by the ?arliament of Jganda on :C
>ecember :C#% with the death penalty proposal dropped in fa&our of life
in prison. The bill was signed into law by the ?resident of Jganda on :6
@ebruary :C#6.
The legislati&e proposal would broaden the criminalisation of same-sex
relations in Jganda domestically, and further includes pro&isions for
Jgandans who engage in same-sex relations outside of Jganda, asserting
that they may be extradited for punishment bac! to Jganda, and includes
penalties for indi&iduals, companies, media organisations, or non-
go&ernmental organisations that !now of gay people or support 29T
rights.
The pri&ate member0s bill was submitted by =ember of ?arliament >a&id
9ahati on #6 .ctober :CC$. *ame-sex relationships are currently illegal in
JgandaOas they are in many sub-*aharan 4frican countriesOpunishable
by incarceration in prison for up to #6 years. 4 special motion to introduce
the legislation was passed a month after a two-day conference was held in
which three 4merican /hristians asserted that homosexuality is a direct
threat to the cohesion of 4frican families. *e&eral sources ha&e noted
endemic homophobia in Jganda has been exacerbated by the bill and the
associated discussions about it.
Jgandan ?resident Noweri =use&eni has signed into law a bill that
toughens penalties against gay people and de"nes some homosexual acts
as crimes punishable by life in prison.
Homosexual acts are already illegal in Jganda, and =use&eni had gone
bac! and forth recently about whether he would sign the contro&ersial bill
in the face of &ocal opposition from the 5est.
4t the public signing of the bill =onday, a de"ant =use&eni declared that
he would not allow the 5est to impose its &alues on Jganda.
The bill, introduced "rst in :CC$, originally included a death penalty clause
for some homosexual acts. 1t was briePy shel&ed when 9ritain and other
8uropean nations threatened to withdraw aid to Jganda, which relies on
millions of dollars from the international community.
The nation0s parliament passed the bill in >ecember, replacing the death
penalty pro&ision with a proposal of life in prison for "aggra&ated
homosexuality." This includes acts in which one person is infected with
H1Q, "serial oAenders" and sex with minors, according to 4mnesty
1nternational.
The bill also proposed years in prison for anyone who counsels or reaches
out to gays and lesbians, a pro&ision that would ensnare rights groups and
others pro&iding ser&ices to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
people.
=use&eni0s position on the law changed se&eral times since lawma!ers
passed it late last year. 1n January he said he wouldn0t sign the bill,
describing homosexuals as "sic!" people who needed help, not
imprisonment. 9ut he bac!trac!ed this month and said he0d sign it
because scientists had determined that there is no gene for
homosexuality and that it is merely a choice to embrace abnormal
beha&ior.
http)EEedition.cnn.comE:C#6EC:E:6EworldEafricaEuganda-anti-gay-billE
http)EEwww.theguardian.comEworldE:C#6EaprEC:Euganda-celebrates-anti-
gay-law
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