Cultural genocide

Looting of Polish artwork at the Zachęta building by German forces during the Occupation of Poland, 1944

Cultural genocide or culturicide is a concept described by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944, in the same book that coined the term genocide.[1] The destruction of culture was a central component in Lemkin's formulation of genocide.[1] Though the precise definition of cultural genocide remains contested, the Armenian Genocide Museum defines it as "acts and measures undertaken to destroy nations' or ethnic groups' culture through spiritual, national, and cultural destruction".[2] The drafters of the 1948 Genocide Convention initially considered using the term, but later dropped it from inclusion.[3][4][5]

Cultural genocide involves the eradication and destruction of cultural artifacts, such as books, artworks, and structures.[6] The issue is addressed in multiple international treaties, including the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute, which define war crimes associated with the destruction of culture. Cultural genocide may also involve forced assimilation, as well as the suppression of a language or cultural activities that do not conform to the destroyer's notion of what is appropriate.[6] Among many other potential reasons, cultural genocide may be committed for religious motives (e.g., iconoclasm which is based on aniconism); as part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing in an attempt to remove the evidence of a people from a specific locale or history; as part of an effort to implement a Year Zero, in which the past and its associated culture is deleted and history is "reset".

Some ethnologists, such as Robert Jaulin, use the term ethnocide as a substitute for cultural genocide,[7] although this usage has been criticized as risking the confusion between ethnicity and culture.[8]

The term "cultural genocide" has been considered in various draft United Nations declarations, but it is not used by the UN Genocide Convention.[7]

  1. ^ a b Bilsky, Leora; Klagsbrun, Rachel (23 July 2018). "The Return of Cultural Genocide?". European Journal of International Law. 29 (2): 373–396. doi:10.1093/ejil/chy025. ISSN 0938-5428. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Genocide Museum | The Armenian genocide Museum-institute". www.genocide-museum.am. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference AbtahiWebb2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Davidson2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference AutoCK-2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b "Cultural Genocide, Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools". Facing History and Ourselves. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  7. ^ a b Robert Jaulin (1970). La paix blanche: introduction à l'ethnocide (in French). Éditions du Seuil.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference DelantyKumar2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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