In 1944, a Polish jurist of Jewish descent, Raphael Lemkin, coined the term genocide. He was referring to the systematic elimination of European Jews by Nazis and their allies. It is not widely known, however, that Lemkin had his eyes also on the Armenian massacres of 1915, on the Assyrian massacres of the same period, and on the crusade against the Cathars of the first half of the 13th century in Languedoc — a land which effectively became the southern portion of the French kingdom through that crusade.
In all these different circumstances, Lemkin found common elements concurring to the definition of genocide. It is upsetting to me that many today refuse to speak of genocide about the situation in Palestine, as Lemkin’s definition clearly applies. The sheer numbers of victims, or what percentage of a population is killed, do not enter Lemkin’s definition. He instead focuses on the intention to destroy the essential elements which define the identity of a group of people, and the coordinated efforts at putting such a destruction in place.
The killings — direct and indirect — are certainly relevant, but equally important for recognizing a genocide are the destruction of cultural/religious heritages, the dismantling of social and political structures, the displacement from a territory, in short all that concurs to the elimination of the existence of the group as such, even though some of its members may physically survive.
It seems to me that one of the major appeals of Catharism today regards precisely their terrible end, rather than their beliefs. The massacre of 1209 at Beziérs (see yesterday’s DM), which inaugurated the Crusade, had an enormous immediate impact in all of Languedoc, as witnessed by the laments — quite similarly to the biblical Lamentations of Jeremiah — that the troubadours issued in words and songs.
The pyre of 1244 after the siege of Montségur, on which more than 200 people were burned alive and which ended the Crusade itself, seems to have found instead an echo especially in 19th-century historical reconstructions, not in troubadour songs. Some have speculated indeed that the culture of the troubadours had already been dismantled by the Crusade itself.
Yesterday and today, people are able to feel the horror of genocidal events with particular intensity, albeit some try desperately to hide such awareness to themselves and they might succeed for a time. I wonder if the evil archetype of genocide has always been present in humanity’s mind and Lemkin simply helped us to see it more clearly.
In the Middle Ages, many cities were besieged. In most cases, such cities were eventually raided and slaughter ensued. Yet it is the fate of the people of Beziérs and Montségur which left literary and musical traces of despair and beauty. And it is the horrors of those specific events that makes many historians today label the Crusade against the Cathars as a genocide.
In the case of Beziérs, it is especially the solidarity of the townspeople with the “heretics” — leading to their own demise — which is impressive and moving. In the case of Montségur, it is the peaceful procession of two hundred “heretics” marching into the fire prepared for them by the “orthodox” Christians.
The moral uprightness and the dignity of entire groups of victimized people, even to their last breath, is very impressive. It adds a deep emotional layer to a recognition that is already in place: the awareness of witnessing a genocide.
Genocide is a particular form of evil not because it kills, maims, or displaces more people than wars do. Genocide kills meaning. People are always embedded in cultures and religions which offer and explanation of the world and a purpose for living. If you destroy an entire cultural/religious group, you effectively end the transmission of meaning, even the zest for life, which we learn through our culture of origin.
The killing of people in war, especially civilians, is repugnant to moral consciousness. Genocidal actions hit even harder. Not letting clean water, food, and medical supplies reach the extremely tried population of Gaza is a war crime, but once one realizes the genocidal intent of those actions, they feel even worse. The attempt to kill meaning feels like an attempt to kill humanity, not just one’s enemies.
Banner Image: A girl in search of food during the Gaza-Israel war. Photo by Jaber Jehad Badwan. Wikimedia Commons.
Queries for Contemplation
As we are confronting the deepest kinds of evil in our lifetime, what can we learn from history? Can creativity and art help us express our deep sorrow?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society.
The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’ s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved.
Passion For Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart.
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality.
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth.
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice.
Charles Burack, ed., Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality.
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6 thoughts on “The Evil of Genocide”
The first lines of “What We Have Learned,” a report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada state:
“For over a century, the central goals of Canada’s Aboriginal policy were to eliminate Aboriginal governments; ignore Aboriginal rights; terminate the Treaties; and, through a process of assimilation, cause Aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct legal, social, cultural, religious, and racial entities in Canada. The establishment and operation of residential schools were a central element of this policy, which can best be described as ‘cultural genocide.’
Physical genocide is the mass killing of the members of a targeted group, and biological genocide is the destruction of the group’s reproductive capacity. Cultural genocide is the destruction of those structures and practices that allow the group to continue as a group.
States that engage in cultural genocide set out to destroy the political and social institutions of the targeted group. Land is seized, and populations are forcibly transferred and their movement is restricted. Languages are banned. Spiritual leaders are persecuted, spiritual practices are forbidden, and objects of spiritual value are confiscated and destroyed. And, most significantly to the issue at hand, families are disrupted to prevent the transmission of cultural values and identity from one generation to the next.” https://nctr.ca/publications-and-reports/reports/#highlighted-reports
If the shoe fits, wear it.
There have been so much cruelty, killings, wars, racism, social injustices, suffering, and genocide in human history, up to our present times, that it takes a lot of Faith, Love, Wisdom, Truth, Strength, compassion and humility to realize that, as reincarnation teaches us, We’ve All been oppressors and victims in our past lives needing ancestral and personal/communal healing in Our Faithful human evolution of Our eternal planetary Souls along with All physical/nonphysical dimensions and Beings of Our Sacred evolving Co-Creating Cosmos….
Thank you for speaking Truth to Power in this post on the genocide of the Palestinian people. I read once that over 50% of the population is under the age of twenty-one. How more horrific it is to understand that our country has been supporting a war waged against children. This reminds me of our Western history once again, of the Children’s Crusade, and of the Inquisition waged against the Cathars, Jews and Women. The only way to heal is to understand and own our woundedness. The Via Transformativa is a path toward our collective healing!
This reminded me of the extermination of the American Indians and forcing them off of their ancestral homes.
Regarding the obliteration of Gaza as genocide:
South Africa cited Netanyahu’s October 28, 2023 broadcast in bringing a charge of genocide against Israel to the ICJ, quoting, “You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible….And we do remember.” Netanyahu’s office claimed the reference was to Deuteronomy 25:17–19: “blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” The full instructions were given in the book of Samuel: “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
“This refers to the biblical command by God to Saul for the retaliatory destruction of an entire group of people,” said a member of the South African legal team, showing later footage of IDF soldiers chanting “wipe off the seed of Amalek.”
(distilled from https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/01/south-africa-israel-amalek-netanyahu/)
And this is not intentional genocide?!
Yes, I believe we are confronting some of the deepest kinds of evil in our lifetime. Your meditation on Wednesday included a video from Dreadline about public executions, and that inspired me to spend the entire day writing a Substack piece, here: https://mickimcfadden.substack.com/p/retro-futurism-and-other-forms-of?r=1holup&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
If the link doesn’t work, you can find in my Substack platform “Think Again.” The article you inspired is called: “Retro Futurism and Other Forms of Fantasy in the GOP.”