Raphael Lemkin And The Struggle For The Genocide Convention

This book is the first complete biography of Raphael Lemkin, the father of the United Nations Genocide Convention, based on his papers; and shows how his campaign for an international treaty succeeded. In addition, the book covers Lemkin's inauguration of the historical study of past genocides.

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Politics - Topic: Public International Law and Human Rights, grade: 10, İzmir University of Economics, course: Contemporary Debates in Global Politics, language: English, abstract: This work provides details about Raphael Lemkin, who struggled a lot in order to make a crime against humanity punishable and recognizable under term of ''genocide''. Today, we frequently hear the word ''genocide'', but unfortunately we have no idea about the man who coined the term. More precisely, the purpose of this piece is to introduce you to the man named Raphael Lemkin and his efforts to contribute to the prevention of the worst crime against humanity. The paper provides answers on the questions about Lemkin's motivation and definition of the term ''genocide''. Additionally, the paper discusses Lemkin's influence on the adoption and the ratification of the Genocide Convention by the United Nations.

Facing History and Ourselves introduces its first book in the Making History Series. Created for classroom use, this groundbreaking volume highlights the story of Raphael Lemkin, a lawyer of Polish-Jewish decent who, driven by a sense of moral duty and outraged by injustice, helped to facilitate the establishment of the Genocide Convention, and set out guidelines for the international prevention and punishment for the crime of genocide. After studying the massacres of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Lemkin struggled to find a way to use the law to prevent collective violence. To support his legal arguments, Lemkin coined the word 'genocide' in 1943. How did a new word change the way that people thought about a problem? Totally Unofficial explores the spectacular history of one man's work, and an international community's need to continue in his footsteps.

Raphaël Lemkin was one of the twentieth century's most influential human rights figures, coining the word "genocide" in 1942 and working to embed the idea into international law. This book sheds new light on the concept of genocide, exploring the connection between Lemkin's philosophical writings, juridical works, and politics.

DIVAmong the greatest intellectual heroes of modern times, Raphael Lemkin lived an extraordinary life of struggle and hardship, yet altered international law and redefined the world’s understanding of group rights. He invented the concept and word “genocide” and propelled the idea into international legal status. An uncommonly creative pioneer in ethical thought, he twice was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize./divDIV/divDIVAlthough Lemkin died alone and in poverty, he left behind a model for a life of activism, a legacy of major contributions to international law, and—not least—an unpublished autobiography. Presented here for the first time is his own account of his life, from his boyhood on a small farm in Poland with his Jewish parents, to his perilous escape from Nazi Europe, through his arrival in the United States and rise to influence as an academic, thinker, and revered lawyer of international criminal law./div

Genocide is acknowledged as 'the crime of crimes'. This book is the product of an encounter between scholars of historical and legal disciplines which have joined forces to address the question of whether the legal concept of genocide still corresponds with the historical and social perception of the phenomenon.

This year the United Nations celebrated the 'Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide', adopted in December 1948. It is time to recognize the man behind this landmark in international law. At the beginning were a few words: "New conceptions require new terms. By ‘genocide’ we mean the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group". Rarely in history have paradigmatic changes in scholarship been brought about with such few words. Putting the quintessential crime of modernity in only one sentence, Raphael Lemkin (1900-1959), the Polish Jewish specialist in international law, not only summarized the horrors of the National Socialist Crimes, which were still underway, when he coined the term "genocide" in 1944, but also influenced international law. As the founding figure of the UN Genocide Convention Lemkin is finally getting the respect he deserves. Less known is his contribution to historical scholarship on genocide. Until his death, Lemkin was working on a broad study on genocides in the history of humankind. Unfortunately, he did not manage to publish it. The contributions in this book offer for the first time a critical assessment not only of his influence on international law but also on historical analysis of mass murders, showing the close connection between both. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Genocide Research.

This case study highlighting the story of Raphael Lemkin challenges everyone to think deeply about what it will take for individuals, groups, and nations to take up Lemkin's challenge. To make this material accessible for classrooms, this resource includes several components: an introduction by Genocide scholar Omer Bartov; a historical case study on Lemkin and his legacy; questions for student reflection; suggested resources; a series of lesson plans using the case study; and a selection of primary source documents. Born in 1900, Raphael Lemkin, devoted most of his life to a single goal: making the world understand and recognize a crime so horrific that there was not even a word for it. Lemkin took a step toward his goal in 1944 when he coined the word "genocide" which means the destruction of a nation or an ethnic group. He said he had created the word by combining the ancient Greek word "genos" (race, tribe) and the Latin "cide" (killing). In 1948, three years after the concentration camps of World War ii had been closed forever, the newly formed United Nations used this new word in a treaty that was intended to prevent any future genocides. Lemkin died a decade later. He had lived long enough to see his word widely accepted and also to see the United Nations treaty, called the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted by many nations. But, sadly, recent history reminds everyone that laws and treaties are not enough to prevent genocide. Individual sections contain footnotes.