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In recent years that seem to mirror the rise and public prominence of the Holocaust denial movement there has been a steady drumbeat of using purely quantitative data to distinguish, or more accurately, downplay the atrocities of the Nazi regime by comparing the indisputably horrific body counts accredited to the likes of Stalin and Mao ZeDong. But from the perspective of historians and history buffs, statistics can not be passed off as qualitative analysis.
From my perspective, the unprecedented heinousness of the Nazi Regime, wasn't just the number of dead, but how they became that way. And while I will be the first to point out any number of genocides perpetuated throughout human history, I can't point to a single one that from its inception created a philosophy that expressly called for the total eradication of one group of humans, that not only attempted to carry out that philosophy but designed and built and entire infrastructure to carry out genocide.
Yes Stalin and Mao were murderous despots who only eclipsed their fellows by the shear number of victims, but their despotism wasn't unprecedented in human history, or at least any history that I am aware of...
The Third Punic War would seem to satisfy the "total eradication of one group of humans" criteria you propose.
Carthage was no longer any sort of real threat to Roman domination of the Mediterranean after the Second Punic War. Due to greed, paranoia or hubris, Rome just could not stand the idea of the continuing existence of Carthage. They picked the Third Punic War via a series of escalating outrageous demands on Carthage, laid siege to the city when Carthage was finally provoked beyond tolerance, and killed all in the city save 50,000 who were sold into slavery, scattered throughout the empire.
When Rome was done there was no more Carthage and no more people identified as Carthaginians. Rome exterminated the entire concpet of Carthage.
ps...the often reported salting of the fields of Carthage so that they would not produce crops enjoys no evidenciary backing. Rome imported enormous amounts of grain from the region and it is very unlikely that they would have stupidly sabotaged such an important resource.
You might want to check with some Native Americans about a conceived and sustained, state driven effort at eradication.
There was never a central, organized policy directed at native extermination. The policy in the East had been removal, concentration and pacification.
The western conquest of the Great Plains tribes was utterly devoid of a central policy of any kind. It was largely a reactive dynamic driven by events, discoveries and individual violations of agreements.
It was never "How can we kill them all?" Rather it was "How can we get them all out of our way?"
The Third Punic War would seem to satisfy the "total eradication of one group of humans" criteria you propose.
I had a feeling that you or one or two others would pull an ancient rabbit out of the historical hat.
But wasn't it the exception rather than the rule that a city having been laid to siege would be utterly annihilated and the survivors sold into slavery???
It should be kept in mind that only an relatively recent times, has the technology existed to accurately census an entire population of that magnitude, ad then to also systematically exterminate them. The genocide in Rwanda, for example, could not have equaled the Holocaust, no matter how diligent, for reasons of disorganization and lack of the necessary hardware.
When we developed the technology of nuclear weapons, mass exterminations could eclipse any previous efforts to achieve the same death toll, no matter how dedicated and purposeful the agents. And there have no doubt many who in prior history who would have.
Genghis Khan is said to have exterminated the population of Herat in a few days, using hand tools. In possession of an atomic bomb or luftwaffe, he could have done it in hours or minutes.
"From my perspective, the unprecedented heinousness of the Nazi Regime, wasn't just the number of dead, but how they became that way. And while I will be the first to point out any number of genocides perpetuated throughout human history, I can't point to a single one that from its inception created a philosophy that expressly called for the total eradication of one group of humans, that not only attempted to carry out that philosophy but designed and built and entire infrastructure to carry out genocide. "
Your debate point has too much wiggle room to be a valid posit. Even the Nazi regime did not create such a "philosophy" at inception, nor was it consistent in the way actions were carried out.
Genocides tend to be reactionary in nature rather than pro-active. The sack of Jerusalem occurred when Romans had just had their fill of problems in the area, but otherwise fills many of your requirements. The Third Punic War, as has been pointed out, is another. Part of me wants to think the Chinese attempted invasion of Japan was another, but perhaps not.
As for TOTAL eradication of a group, even the Nazis were limited to an eradication within their sphere of influence, and was incomplete even in that. For total eradication, a group has to be small, even eclectic. One very effective self-eradication was the Shakers.
Enslavement is a more practical answer than genocide, if the greater ethos allows it. Who built the German rocket bases and sub pens?
"From my perspective, the unprecedented heinousness of the Nazi Regime, wasn't just the number of dead, but how they became that way. And while I will be the first to point out any number of genocides perpetuated throughout human history, I can't point to a single one that from its inception created a philosophy that expressly called for the total eradication of one group of humans, that not only attempted to carry out that philosophy but designed and built and entire infrastructure to carry out genocide. "
Your debate point has too much wiggle room to be a valid posit. Even the Nazi regime did not create such a "philosophy" at inception, nor was it consistent in the way actions were carried out.
Genocides tend to be reactionary in nature rather than pro-active. The sack of Jerusalem occurred when Romans had just had their fill of problems in the area, but otherwise fills many of your requirements. The Third Punic War, as has been pointed out, is another. Part of me wants to think the Chinese attempted invasion of Japan was another, but perhaps not.
As for TOTAL eradication of a group, even the Nazis were limited to an eradication within their sphere of influence, and was incomplete even in that. For total eradication, a group has to be small, even eclectic. One very effective self-eradication was the Shakers.
Enslavement is a more practical answer than genocide, if the greater ethos allows it. Who built the German rocket bases and sub pens?
They employed enslavement. Those who were ruled insuffincenty useful to work died immediately. They also forced what they called totenabend, work to death. They eeked some last use out of those who could be forced to do hard labor without much food. The intention was to kill them bit by bit. It was to make their plan as efficent as possible by using the last gasp of life out of all resources they had.
I only know one thing for sure....The future holds many more holocausts that will be far more massive and efficient that holocausts perpetrated by Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Gengis Khan, Napoleon, etc, etc.
I believe there have been holocausts since the beginning of neolithic and the agricultural revolution.
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