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“My father was one of the million victims who were killed by the Khmer Rouge genocide politics led by Pol Pot. Up to this day I cannot comprehend the reason for the execution of my father and other millions of my fellow countrymen. My father was not a man of politics nor was he a criminal by any means. As far as I can remember, he was a family man like any other Cambodian man in the country. He was a loving and caring father. A great protector and provider for his family and for those worked in his shipping company. He was a patriotic man… According to this Khmer Rouge cadre, named Met Chan, who was personally involved with the interrogation of my father described ways in which he and his comrades punished my father. From the time they took my father out of our hut, he was kicked, dragged and beaten all the way to the killing site. Before he was executed he was cuffed in chains along with three other men and was confined in a basement inside an abandoned temple. He went without food for several days because Khmer Rouge cadres knew that he was going to be killed anyway before they finally decided to take him to the grave. His face was swollen with bruises from the beating. His back and ribs were broken by the constant beating by the young Khmer Rouge Cadres. The beating was so severe that it paralyzed his speech and consciousness. By this time, he was just lying on the floor unable to move or ask for mercy. According to Met Chan, his last words were calling for his wife, son and daughter…Two days after the interrogation, they took him to the killing ground. He was hit with a metal rod three times at the back of the head…I am one of the many voices speaking out atrocity of the Khmer Rouge's genocide politics. There are millions of Cambodians who lost their immediate family members and loved ones. The Khmer Rouge regime not only traumatized millions of Cambodians' psychological function but it created a permanent scare in every Cambodian citizen. We lost so much. The greatest loss of all were those whose resources and capacities to advance our social development. A lot of talented individuals died because some defected semi- intellectuals such as Pol Pot were too incompetent to deal with social development.”
- Sisowath Doung Chanto (Born in 1970, Story told to her by her relatives and then retold in 1990)
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Transcribed Image Text:WORLD LEADERS INFORMATION SHEET
1. Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was not only one of the greatest military commanders of all time,
but he also became the emperor of France, as well as many other European countries after the
French Revolution. He muled from 1799-1815. Before Napoleon, France was in a chaotic state
following the French Revolution. The French people had been executed mercilessly during the
Reign of Terror by Robespierre. The people craved a return to a normal, peaceful lifestyle. Napoleon
rose to fame during the French Revolution, as a respected military general. He was a respected commander, both by his
troops and then, the people of France. After coming back from his military campaigns, he became a member of a
three-person team of French rulers. He quickly pushed out his co-rulers and became the Ruler-for-Life in 1802 and then
the Emperor in 1804. He waged military campaigns and attempted to conquer nations such as Italy, Sweden, Germany
and Spain. During this time, in France, he instituted the Napoleonic Code. This was a set of laws that gave the people of
France their first legal code – laws such as forbidding privileges based on birth, allowing freedom of religion. Napoleon
also made everybody (not just the Third Estate) pay taxes. However, despite the success of the Napoleonic Code, his
military campaign against Russia became a disaster – unprepared for the cold weather and large size of Russia, Napoleon
suffered a terrible defeat. He was driven out of power soon after this loss, but even today, he remains one of the most
fascinating and disputed historical figures of modern European history.
2. Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) was a totalitarian dictator who became the second leader of the Soviet Union and
ruled from 1924-1953. Before the communist revolution, the Czar (king) controlled society and did not
allow Russians to openly criticize the government, the secret police carefully watched high schools and
universities for those who spoke out against his rule. If someone was caught, they were exiled to far away
Siberia, a region of Russia. Russian factory workers were unhappy – the conditions in factories were very bad and pay
was low. Only the nobility could get good jobs and only 1% of the population was rich. The price of bread was so high
that people in Russia could not even afford to buy a loaf of bread for their families. After Russia lost a war
(Russo-Japanese) with Japan, they blamed their Czar for Russia's humiliation and defeat. Due to this the Russian
Revolution and the communist came to power. First Lenin came to power and after his death, Stalin rose to power. Every
aspect of people's lives was controlled by the government. Russia became a command economy, where government
officials made all economic decisions. Stalin forced peasants to give up ownership of their land and live on
government-owned farms called collectives. On a collective farm, all animals and equipment were owned by the state.
The government controlled the prices paid to the farmers for their products, and forced them to fill quotas, or production
goals. During the Great Purges, Stalin eliminated his opponents by sending them to do brutal physical labor in work
camps (gulags), by assassinating them in large numbers, by putting them on public trials and using them as examples for
the rest of the country. Stalin terrorized large segments of the Soviet population, especially rich farmers. He also
ordered a massive famine in Ukraine, where around 5 million people died. About 20 million people died or disappeared
because of Stalin's actions. Russia successfully fought back against Germany's armies during World War II. Stalin also
tried to spur industrial production, hoping to catch up to the United States as a world superpower.
Transcribed Image Text:3. Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong (1893-1976) was inspired by the ideas of the Russian Revolution and succeeded in
bringing the revolution to the suffering peasants in China. As in Russia, the communist revolution in
China was not one of workers vs. owners, but one of imperial govenment vs. poor starving peasants
who felt that the government had abandoned them. After years of civil war, China became a
Communist nation in 1949 and Mao ruled from 1949-1976. The newly communist China looked to the Soviet Union
for leadership, but quickly turned in a different direction. Mao Zedong, the leader of the Communist Party, turned
China from a farming, old-fashioned society into a modern industrial power. Mao undertook a number of programs in
order to achieve his goal. He created communes, a Chinese version of the Russian collective, tried to renew Chinese
culture. He also launched a series of agricultural and industrial production initiatives, and improved the social standing
of women. He was well-known for the Cultural Revolution, which waged war on Western and democeratic ideas in
China. Foreign writings and influences were removed from China by his Red Guards, his army of student
revolutionaries. Some of Mao's writings were copied into the handbook, The Quotations of Chairman Mao (also
known as the Little Red Book) and given to every Chinese citizen and they were forced to memorize it.
4. Mohandas Gandhi
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) was a nationalist leader in India who called for ahimsa (non-violence) and
civil disobedience (not following laws because they are immoral) to gain India's freedom from the British
empire. India had been controlled by the British Empire since the 1700s (IMPERIALISM!). Over time,
nationalistic feelings grew among the Indian population and a movement was began to first rule themselves, and then
achieve complete independence from the British. In 1885, Indian nationalists formed the Indian National Congress, of
which Gandhi was the leader, to achieve these goals. Gandhi was an activist from 1893-1948. Gandhi believed in
using non-violent methods to peacefully protest the rule of the British. He organized the Salt March to protest the
British Salt Tax, which made it illegal for workers to collect free salt from the seas and forced them to buy salt they
couldn't afford. In 1947, India gained their independence from Great Britain, due in large part to the strong lendership
of Mohandas Gandhi.
5. Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) was elected South Africa's first black president in 1994. South Africa was
ruled by European (British and Dutch) settlers for a long time. While South Africa gained independence
from Great Britain in the beginning of the 20 century, the country was still controlled by the white
minority. Black South Africans lived under the policy of apartheid, which limited their rights severely.
Under apartheid, black South Africans could only live in certain areas and were required to use separate
trains, beaches, restaurants and schools and could not marry white South Africans. Nelson Mandela, a leader of the
African National Congress, protested this treatment of black South Africans. He was active from 1943-1999. The
African National Congress, a group formed in protest of this policy, was eventually outlawed due to their violent
tacties. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for over 30 years due to his involvement in anti-apartheid demonstrations.
Apartheid lasted until the early 1990s when white South African President, F. W. de Klerk ended apartheid and
released Nelson Mandela from his imprisonment. In 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected as South Africa's first black
president. One of the first things Mandela did as president was to rid the country of the awful policy of apartheid,
creating equality amongst the races in South Africa.
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