Dissertationen zum Thema „History – atrocities“

This dissertation explores the relationship between violence and betrayal in retribution against military and police collaborators who helped maintain Japan’s wartime occupations up until its defeat in 1945. Looking at the approaches taken in the colonies of British Asia, postwar treason trials in the Philippines, and Chinese Communist approaches in wartime and postwar Shandong province, this study argues that the laws and rhetoric of treason were deeply flawed tools for confronting the atrocities of war. At the very moment that war crimes trials were defining a set of acts that constituted crimes against all humanity, around the world thousands of individuals who helped perpetrate them were treated as primarily guilty of crimes against the nation. Each of the chapters in this work examines the costs and consequences of this for postwar societies on the eve of decolonization and civil war. Throughout the territories under Japanese occupation, locally recruited military and police forces comprised the largest category of individuals to face accusations of treason in the aftermath of war, but were also those most likely to be complicit in atrocities. Among the ranks of the disloyal, they were both the most useful as well as the most dangerous to postwar regimes and almost always separated out from other accused collaborators. Their treason was often treated as a disease of the heart which, once cured, allowed them to be deployed once more. Attempts to try them for their betrayal often faced destabilizing political opposition, especially in cases where their wartime actions were carried out in the name of independence from colonial rule, and were almost always reduced in scale to focus on those accused both of treason and atrocities. Marred by the politics of betrayal, the resulting hybrid proceedings failed to achieve a reckoning with wartime massacres and torture.
History

This thesis uses the war crimes investigations carried out by the Wehrmacht between 1939-1945 to explore the creation and development of the narrative which the Nazi regime constructed to justify its war of aggression, conquest, and extermination. This source has been sorely underused and provides deep insight into the regime's official narrative - a narrative which seems fundamentally at odds with its true aims and its murderous actions. It claimed that the Reich was waging a war in self-defence and for humanitarian reasons. These justifications were designed to convince both the German population and international audiences. The regime did not simply lie, however, but gathered empirical evidence which it then used selectively to legitimise the war. By reconstructing this process, the thesis aims to understand the degree to which the regime was able to make its arguments convincing. This allows us to better understand how it was possible to mobilise so many ordinary Germans to support and fight the war and, indeed, to perpetrate horrendous crimes. In particular, this thesis seeks to explore the tension between the official narrative and the Reich's own crimes, arguing that these two were not diametrically opposed, but that there was a direct justificatory link between them. Crucial in this context was the degree to which the regime could portray its criminal actions as a response to those of the enemy. In doing so, this thesis develops on a historiography which has acknowledged the importance of the regime's justificatory framework, but which has yet to study the foundations on which this was based and how it developed over the course of the war. In short, this is a study of the German narrative of victimhood which underpinned the brutal war of extermination.

This thesis will highlight a number of traumatic memories chronologically in the history of this city. The Versailles Conference will be the beginning of the tale of these two cities in the first chapter, Danzig before 1945. The history of the interwar years reveals a severe rift between Poland and Weimar Germany over the Free city of Danzig. German memory would remember the city 's nazification, the invasion by Germany and even the relative safety during the war as traumatic through a general feeling that Nazism had been forced upon German Danzigers, resulting in their own versions of victimhood.

An essential and critical component of the orders German front-line formations received in the ideological war against the Soviet Union was the Commissar Order of 6 June 1941. This order, issued by the High Command of the Armed Forces prior to the German invasion of the Soviet Union, required that front-line military formations, as well as SS and police units attached to the Army, immediately execute Soviet political commissars among prisoners of war. Soviet political commissars were attached to the Red Army at virtually every operational level, and were viewed by both Hitler and the High Command as the foremost leaders of the resistance against the Nazis because of their commitment to Bolshevik ideology. According to the Commissar Order, "Commissars will not be treated as soldiers. The protection afforded by international law to prisoners of war will not apply in their case. After they have been segregated they will be liquidated."
While there is no paucity of information on the existence and intent of the Commissar Order, this directive has only been investigated by scholars as a portion of a much greater ideological portrait, or subsumed in the larger context of overall Nazi criminal activities during "Operation Barbarossa."
Examining the extent to which front-line divisions carried out the charge to shoot all grades of political commissars is necessary if we are to understand the role and depth of involvement by front-line troops of the Wehrmacht in a murderous program of extermination during the German attack and occupation of the Soviet Union. Such an examination has simply not taken place to-date. My dissertation seeks to address this issue. The result is both a narrative on the genesis of the Commissar Order and its attendant decrees and agreements between the Army leadership and the SS ( SD) and Security Police, and a quantitative analysis of how many commissars were reported captured and shot by the front-line forces of the 17th Army over a seven month period.

This thesis examines how the First World War and the Holocaust fit into Western history and literary history by. It takes as its point of departure two arguments that currently enjoy, the favor of many specialists. First, it critiques the idea that the literature of the First World War is firmly embedded in the Western literary heritage while that of the Holocaust lies outside the realm of expression, a position that Jay Winter has taken a leading role in developing. Second, it challenges the notion that the Holocaust is an occurrence in history to which no other event offers parallels. The study argues that these points of view obscure our understanding of each disaster. In reality, personal narratives demonstrate that many survivors responded to the First World War and the Holocaust in similar ways. If this is true, then the Great War cannot be firmly embedded in the European cultural tradition while the Holocaust destroys it. A more accurate representation is that the first episode of industrial mass slaughter, the Great War, initiated a rupture in the Western historical and literary heritage that the Holocaust completed.
Department of History

When South Africa became a democracy, many of its cultural institutions were tainted by the stigma of having been tools for the production and propagation of apartheid ideology. This thesis examines two key facets of post-apartheid museums and memorials. Firstly, how they have repositioned themselves as institutions of cultural and social standing. Secondly, their role as tools of nation building, social change, and creators of national collective memory within the new democratic South Africa. Through an analysis of cultural memory theory pertaining to museology, this study elaborates on the methods employed by museums to incorporate memory into their narratives and in turn, transfer collective memory to their viewers. This thesis provides a comparative study of the architectural, memorial and museological strategies of two post-apartheid museums; the Red Location Museum and the Apartbeid Museum. It examines the contributions of both museums to the introduction of new museological strategies for the successful creation and transmission of South African collective memory. Through this analysis, both the invaluable contributions and the drawbacks of post-apartheid museums as tools for the promotion of new democratic ideologies and philosophies are considered. This thesis does not resolve the arguments and questions which have surfaced regarding cultural institutions as tools for the promotion of reconciliation and the construction of national collective memory within South Africa. As the current climate of memorialisation is one of change and paradox, it is presently impossible to fully quantify post-apartheid museums' roles within South Africa's move toward reconciliation and social change. However, the examination of both the Red Location Museum and the Apartheid Museum reveals the extraordinary change that South African cultural institutions have undergone in addition to their potential to become institutions which facilitate active reconciliation as well as social and cultural growth.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis explores the issue of collapsed states with reference to William Reno's (2001) theory. Since the end of the Cold War we find in many places that the state itself has collapsed. According to this thesis state collapse refers to a situation where the structure, authority, laws and political order have fallen apart. The phenomenon of collapsed states is historic and worldwide, but nowhere are there more examples than in contemporary Africa. Sierra Leone is an example of a collapsed state in Africa. The state in Sierra Leone was after the commencement of the conflict in 1991 not capable of performing the duties which are required of a state when a state wants to be called a state. Governments in collapsed states lack the capacity to make binding, effective decisions. As a basic institution, the state loses its sovereignty as the most central institution in the society. Resource wars are nowadays a characteristic of collapsed states like Sierra Leone. Resources are used by key figures in the resource wars to enrich themselves. They also exploit the resources to finance their actions and propaganda. Diamonds was the resource which was exploited commercially by the 'government' and Foday Sankoh, a rebel/insurgent, as well as Charles Taylor, a warlord. The resource war was one of the reasons why the state in Sierra Leone collapsed further. It had lead to the total collapse of the state in Sierra Leone. With the commencement of the conflict in Sierra Leone, the issue of peacemaking came to the fore in Sierra Leone. The conflict in Sierra Leone was an intrastate conflict. The primary goal of the United Nations (UN) is to maintain international security and peace. Intrastate conflicts do not form part of the UN's traditional mandate regarding peacemaking. The UN thus had no basic framework of how to get involved in the intrastate conflict in Sierra Leone. The UN only became involved in 1999 in the form of UNAMSIL. Before the intervention of the UN, the 'government' of Sierra Leone turned to Private Military Companies (PMC's) in the form of Executive Outcomes and Sandline International. The problem with the intervention of PMC's in a conflict is that they are not sanctioned by international organisations like the UN. As a regional initiative, ECOWAS in the form of ECOMOG, also became involved in Sierra Leone. The intervention of both ECOMOG and PMC's in Sierra Leone failed to produce peace or the restoration of the state. Only the UN achieved peacemaking and the holding of an election. The conclusion of this thesis is that Sierra Leone fits in the theory of Reno (2001 ) re collapsed states. Sierra Leone is a typical example of a collapsed state and it also illustrates the validity of the concept. This however does not mean that Sierra Leone will be a collapsed state forever. There is the possibility that Sierra Leone can make a transition from a collapsed state to a stronger state to a more stable and functional state. It need, however, be noted that all conclusions in this thesis are of a preliminary nature. The conclusions will therefore be subject to further confirmation by later studies.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis verken die kwessie van vervalle state met verwysing na William Reno (2001) se teorie. Sedert veral die einde van die Koue Oorlog vind ons die tendens dat verskeie state verval het. In hierdie tesis verwys die konsep van 'n vervalle staat na 'n situasie waar die struktuur, gesag, politieke orde en wette uitmekaar geval het. Die verskynsel van vervalle state is histories en kom wêreldwyd voor. Kontemporêre Afrika verskaf egter die meeste voorbeelde van vervalle state. Sierra Leone is 'n voorbeeld van so 'n vervalle staat. Na die aanvang van die konflik in 1991 was die staat in Sierra Leone nie meer daartoe instaat om die funksies te verrig wat van 'n staat vereis word indien so 'n staat as 'n staat geag wil word nie. Die 'regering' in 'n vervalle staat beskik nie meer oor die kapasiteit om bindende, effektiewe besluite te neem nie. Die staat, as 'n basiese instelling, verloor sy soewereiniteit as die sentrale instelling in die samelewing. Die verval van 'n staat word toenemend met die uitbreek van 'n konflik- in hierdie geval 'n- hulpbronoorlog gekenmerk. Hulpbronne word deur die sleutelfigure, wat betrokke is in die hulpbronoorlog in die vervalle staat, gebruik om hulself te verryk. Hierdie hulpbronne word ook gebruik om die sleutelfigure se aksies en propaganda te finansier. Diamante is as hulpbron in Sierra Leone deur die 'regering' en Foday Sankoh, 'n rebellinsurgent, asook Charles Taylor, 'n oorlogsbaron, kommersieël uitgebuit. Die burgeroorlog met sy talle fasette, het tot die totale verval van die staat aanleiding gegee. Die kwessie van vredemaak het met die uitbreek van die konflik in Sierra Leone na vore getree. Die konflik in Sierra Leone was 'n intrastaatkonflik. Die primêre doel van die Verenigde Nasies (VN) is om internasionale vrede en sekuriteit te handhaaf. Intrastaatkonflikte as sulks maak nie deel uit van die tradisionele opdrag van die VN betreffende vredemaak nie. Die VN het gevolglik nie oor 'n basiese raamwerk beskik van hoe om by die intrastaatkonflik in Sierra Leone betrokke te raak nie. Die VN het eers in 1999 in die vorm van UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone betrokke geraak. Voor die intervensie van die VN het die 'regering' van Sierra Leone hom tot Private Militêre Bystand (PMB) in die vorm van 'Executive Outcomes' en 'Sandline International' gewend. Die problematiek insake PMB is dat dit nie deur internasioale organisasies soos die VN gesanksioneer word nie. As 'n regionale inisiatief het ECOWAS ook in die vorm van ECOMOG by die intrastaatkonflik in Sierra Leone betrokke geraak. In hierdie tesis sal daar gemeld word dat beide ECOMOG en PMB, met die uitsondering van die VN, se pogings vir vredemaak in Sierra Leone gefaal het. Die slotsom waartoe hierdie tesis kom is dat Sierra Leone inpas by Reno (2001) se teorie insake die verskynsel van vervalle state. Sierra Leone is 'n tipiese voorbeeld van 'n vervalle staat en dit illustreer die geldigheid van die konsep. Dit beteken egter nie dat Sierra Leone permanent 'n vervalle staat hoef te wees nie. Die moontlikheid bestaan wel dat Sierra Leone die oorgang vanaf 'n vervalle staat na 'n stabieler, meer funksionele staat kan maak. Dit dien egter gemeld te word dat alle afleidings in hierdie tesis as voorlopig van aard beskou kan word. Hierdie afleidings is onderhewig aan verdere bevestiging of weerlegging deur latere studies.

L'hypothese principale de la these repose sur la qualification du genocide commis par l'allemagne nationale socialiste et du systeme concentrationnaire etabli par elle comme evenement politique. Ne s'inscrivant ni purement et simplement dans l'ordre militaire, ni dans l'ordre economique, ni dans les ordres culturel, ethique et religieux, le genocide et le systeme concentrationnaire - que nous avons reunis sur le plan conceptuel dans un dispositif unique - interferent dans chacune de ces spheres; mais dans son essence, il releve de l'ordre politique. Mais c'est un evenement politique paradoxal en ce qu'il repose sur une strategie et une ideologie politique dont l'effet est d'amener a un effondrement massif de la scene politique entendue au sens traditionnel du terme. Cet effondrement, dont nous tentons de cerner dans cette these les tenants et les aboutissants, permet que le "dispositif concentrationaire et genocidaire" - sorte de machinerie sociale etendue a toute l'europe, entre 1939 et 1945 - soit sinon explicitement, du moins implicitement accepte par les differentes instances europeennes. Partant de cette perspective, notre travail comporte trois parties: 1 l'analyse et la construction theorique du dispositif a partir du processus genocidaire et du systeme concentrationnaire nazi; 2 - l'analyse et l'interpretation des pratiques politiques y concourant, la pratique hitlerienne et nazie, et egalement celle des acteurs de la destruction, schematiquement distingues en trois categories : bourreaux, victimes, spectateurs; et enfin, une approche breve de la memoire de l'evenement et de la question de sa posterite, c'est a dire de ce qu'il fonde dans l'europe d'aujourd'hui
The thesis's main assumption is that the genocide perpetrated by the national-socialist germany and the concentrationary system it established is an political event. Neither purely economical nor military, culturel, ethic or religious, the genocide and the concentrationary system, that we joined in a single apparatus, take a part in each of these areas; but in its essential being, it belongs to the political field. But it is a paradoxical politic event as founded on a political strategy and ideology whose results carries to a massive collapse of the political stage in its traditionnal acception. This collapse we are trying to understand the ins and outs allowed that the concentrationnary and genocidary apparatus was accepted as well clearly as unclearly by the miscellaneous european organs. From this point of view, our work contains three parts : 1 - analysis ans theorical construction of the apparatus based on the genocidary process and the concentrationary system; 2 - analysis and interpretation of the political praxis, hitlerian and nazi praxis and also this one of the actors of the destruction distinguished in three types; executioners, victims, witnesses; at last a fast approach of the event remembrance and of the question of its posterity, i. E. . It founds in the contemporary europe

La recherche entend interroger les fonctions de la littérature et de l’art relativement à un événement violent qui fait l’objet d’un tabou, à savoir le massacre perpétré dans les camps de réfugiés palestiniens de Sabra et Chatila (16-18 septembre 1982), à Beyrouth. Elle s’y applique à partir d’un présupposé : il n’y a pas seulement effraction du réel dans l’art, l’art est le temps à l’œuvre (P. Ricœur, A. Compagnon). La démarche part du constat d’un triple déficit d’histoire, de culte des morts et de justice. Il s’agit d’un événement tu : on le dira tabou. Par ailleurs, elle prend acte de l’émergence d’un corpus d’œuvres dans les champs de la littérature, du cinéma, de l’art contemporain. Dès lors, la recherche entend ausculter les fonctions politiques de la poétique (J. Rancière). Plusieurs hypothèses sont formulées qui ensemble signalent le caractère à la fois transitif et performatif de l’art et de la littérature : d’une part, au regard d’une vérité non avérée dans les livres d’histoire, et du mal de vérité qui en résulte (C. Coquio), les œuvres ont vocation à dire ce que l’histoire tait (I. Jablonka, E. Bouju, A. Imhoff, K. Quirós) ; d’autre part, les victimes n’ayant pas été enterrées, les œuvres déposent une stèle à l’endroit de son manque, rétablissant des égalités en direction de corps qui ne comptent pas (J. Butler) ; enfin, face à une irrésolution judiciaire qui signe le caractère indécidable de l’événement, elles opèrent, par leurs médiations symboliques, la clinique non seulement de l’humain, mais aussi du langage et de l’autorité du sens (A. Gefen, C. Coquio).Située au croisement des études postcoloniales et des études de genre, la recherche examine la politicité de la littérature et de l’art à partir d’un corpus de 14 œuvres prélevées aussi bien à l’épicentre qu’aux périphéries de l’événement
The research questions the functions of literature and art in relation to a violent event that is a taboo subject, namely the massacre perpetrated in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila (16-18 September 1982 ), in Beirut. It applies to it with a presupposition: there is not only the breaking of reality in art, art is the time at work (P. Ricœur, A. Compagnon). The process begins with the observation of a triple deficit most evident in historiography, in cult of the dead and justice. This is an event that is held secret: we will call it taboo. In addition, it takes note of the emergence of a corpus of works in the fields of literature, cinema, contemporary art. From then on, the research intends to auscultate the political functions of poetics (J. Rancière). Several hypotheses are formulated which together signal the transitive and performative character of art and literature: on the one hand, in the shade of a truth not recorded in history books, i.e. of the melancholy of truth resulting from this missing (C. Coquio), the works are meant to tell what history conceals (I. Jablonka, E. Bouju, A. Imhoff, K. Quirós); on the other hand, since the victims have not been buried, the works deposit a stele at the place of its absence, restoring equalities towards bodies that do not count (J. Butler); finally, faced with a judicial irresolution which signifies the undecidable character of the event, they operate, through their symbolic mediations, the rehabilitating clinic not only of the human being, but also of the language and the authority of sense (A. Gefen, C. Coquio). Situated at the crossroads of postcolonial studies and gender studies, the research examines the politicity of literature and art of a body of 14 works collected from both the epicenter and the periphery of the event

Cette thèse de doctorat en littérature et arts de la scène et de l’écran examine les écritures scéniques de la catastrophe humaine dans le théâtre contemporain. Elle explore les dynamiques qui sous-tendent la représentation de la barbarie au sein de formes spectaculaires marquées par une forte dimension visuelle. Divisé en deux volets – un premier, critique et un second, pratique –, le travail s’articule d’abord autour d’un corpus composé de trois spectacles : Kamp du collectif Hotel Modern, Rwanda 94 du Groupov et Rouge décanté signé par Guy Cassiers. En observant les oeuvres à la lumière de la complexité et en les abordant à l’aide d’une approche systémique,l’étude tente de révéler les mouvements – esthétiques, perceptifs et thématiques – qui animent ces écritures hétérogènes. La seconde partie de la thèse rend compte d’un processus d’expérimentation mené dans l’espace scénique. Ce dernier, consacré à esquisser une création artistique originale, questionne les mémoires occidentales du génocide des Tutsi du Rwanda.L’expérience pratique fait écho à plusieurs des problématiques soulevées par l’investigation critique et propose une autre forme de réflexion, menée directement sur le plateau
This doctoral thesis in performing arts looks into scenic writings of human disasters incontemporary theatre. It examines dynamics underlying the representation of barbarism withinspectacular forms imprinted with a visual dimension. Split into two parts – a first one, critical anda second one, practical -, the work is firstly structured around a corpus composed of three shows :Kamp of the Hotel Modern group, Rwanda 94 of Groupov and Rouge décanté by Guy Cassiers.Through the observation of the works in the light of the complexity and by analysing it with asystemic approach, the study attempts to reveal the moves – aesthetic, perceptive and thematic –that drive these heterogeneous writings. The second part of the thesis deals with a process ofexperimentation led in the scenic space. The latter, dedicated to outline an original artisticcreation, questions occidental memories on the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda. The practicalexperience echoes back to several issues raised by the critical investigation and proposes anotherform of reflection, directly led on the stage

Historiens, juristes et défenseurs des droits de la personne retracent l’origine des disparitions forcées à partir du Décret « Nuit et Brouillard » du régime hitlérien. Notre contribution sera de remettre en question cette évocation historique en démontrant l’existence d’une pratique antérieure sur le territoire soviétique. L’étude met en valeur les obstacles rencontrés lors des recherches effectuées par les proches, les services diplomatiques et consulaires, les ONG (Croix-Rouge, Société Mémorial), afin de reconstituer l’itinéraire emprunté par les disparus. Les faits de disparition sont établis et analysés de pair avec la Convention internationale pour la protection de toutes les personnes contre les disparitions forcées.
Historians, jurists and human rights defenders trace the origin of enforced disappearances to the “Night and Fog Decree” issued by Hitler. Our contribution will consist of questioning this historic reference by proving the existence of a past practice within Soviet territory. The study highlights the obstacles faced during the searches conducted by close relatives, diplomatic and consular services, and NGOs (Red Cross, Memorial Society), in order to reconstruct the route taken by the disappeared persons. Facts underlying the disappearances are established and analyzed along with the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
Историки, юристы и защитники прав человека считают, что насильственные исчезновения впервые вошли в практику в связи с декретом «Ночь и туман» гитлеровского режима. Мы хотели бы поставить под вопрос это историческое утверждение и показать, что подобная практика существовала на советской территории и ранее. Настоящее исследование выявляет препятствия, встреченные при розысках исчезнувших их близкими, а так же дипломатическими и консульскими службами, общественными организациями (Красным Крестом, Oбществом Мемориал), что бы восстановить их маршрут передвижения. Факты исчезновений установлены и исследованы совместно с Международной Конвенцией для защиты всех лиц от насильственных исчезновений.

World history has been punctuuted by cycles of violence, regardless of time, region or race. Genocide. which is the worst form of violence has always led to horrible impacts of a social, economic and environmental nature. The last decade of the 20th Century was the most turbulent Rwanda has ever seen. The country was ravaged by civil war,genocide, mass migration. economic crisis. diseases, return of refugees and deforestation. Almost all Rwandan families were affected wherever they were and at multiple levels, by outcomes such as death, disease, disability, poverty, loss of dignity and imprisonment. Fortunately, the people of Rwanda have chosen the path of peace. but arc still faced with a huge task of dealiing with the impacts or the genocide and prior conflicts in the region. This dissertation attempts to investigate the socio-economic impacts of the genocide on current development in Rwanda using primClry and secondary data obtained from fieldwork undertaken in Cyangugu and Rutare Towns. The conceptual basis for the study was the Geography of Conflict, The general conclusion reached was that the causes and consequences of the Rwandan genocide are multidimensional. The Rwandan genocide did not originate from the "ancient hatred" between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups, but from the manipulation of history and bad leadership. Also. the main impacts of genocide in Rwanda are the destruction of human resources. social and cultural structures in the country, especially the relationship between the Hutus and Tutsis ethnic groups. In the same way the genocide resulted in destruction of infrastructure. development facilities and natural resources, However. the effort for reconstruction and development undertaken after the genocide shows that rcconciliation is possible in long term despite what happened. The lasting solution for Rwanda is definitely national reconciliation and its success will depend mainly on good governance, human resource development and poverty alleviation.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2008.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Technology: Public Management, Durban University of Technology. South Africa, 2014.
Between 1983 and 1987, an estimated 20 000 people from Matebeleland and parts of Midlands Province in Zimbabwe were killed in an operation code named Gukurahundi by state security agents; mostly the Central Intelligence Organisation and a battalion [5th Brigade] especially trained for this operation. Since that time no official apology or any form of healing process has been proffered by the ZANU PF government which was responsible for these atrocities. As a result, most communities in these areas have never been afforded opportunities to openly talk about their experiences and to seek relief for their painful memories of the past. If anything, the government has continued to cause enduring pain by periodically actively suppressing any such attempts. It has become an accepted norm that after violent conflicts that programmes aimed at reconciliation, healing and forgiveness should be undertaken as part of the peacebuilding efforts. Where such has not occurred, there is a fear that there might be a return to violence at some point in that country or community. The question that this research seeks to answer is whether, in view of the absence of any apology or official healing programme, these communities can heal themselves? Using a participatory action research approach, this research sheds some light on what communities could possibly do on their own to deal with their hurts. It also identifies conditions that would make such healing sustainable and what currently prevents that from taking place. It finds that through a broadly-based array of actions such as creating safe and empathetic spaces for storytelling, both verbal and written, group-based healing workshops and other psychosocial approaches, as well as a critical analysis of participants’ contexts in order to understand what needs transformation, it is possible for traumatised communities to attain a measure of relief from their emotional and psychological wounds. It also finds that this relief could be more sustainable if certain conditions were eliminated.

In April 1994 Rwanda encountered the most gruesome political conflict, which was widely motivated by decades of ethnic tension, and resulted in the massive participation of ordinary Hutus slaughtering Tutsis, who are a minority along with the so-called moderate Hutus. Large numbers of ordinary Rwandans became killers, some willingly and some by force. About one million Rwandans, mostly Tutsis, lost their lives during the killings. Hence this historic event was declared to be genocide. The post-genocide government of Paul Kagame has been faced with the mission not only to reconcile the nation but also to forge a justice system that will assure Rwandans and those who committed crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity will be punished appropriately. It is outmost important to note that emphasis on justice in cases such as Rwandan genocide might be seen to be most desirable to victims in particular. This idea can be more dangerous particularly if the process takes place in an atmosphere which is characterised by political environment which is oppressive and autocratic. Realising the complexity of the conflict and inability of the conventional justice system to in dealing with the massive cases of people alleged to have participated in the killings or committed crime of genocide. The victims impatiently sought not only justice but answers to what has happened to their loved ones. On the other hand those labeled as perpetrators also wanted to clear their names since some of them believed that they were wrongfully accused and the process was taking too long. The Rwandan government was left with no option and decided to reintroduce the traditional justice system called the Gacaca. The Gacaca system was not only pioneered to render justice to the victims and those wrongfully accused but to reconcile as well as bring peace to the Rwandan society. This study is therefore aimed at providing a comprehensive and compelling explanation of the process and the operations of the Gacaca tribunals. Thus by means of both historical and empirical analysis, the study hopes to determine the challenges confronting the system and the promise it holds, if any, and to recommend the need to adopt and adapt to an approach which is wider and more integrated in dealing with reconciliation in the region. To accomplish this study, data was predominantly sourced from primary sources such as media reports and personal interviews with Rwandan community living in Durban, South Africa. The study revealed that the Rwandan genocide was marked by overwhelming public participation which makes Rwandan conflict even more complex. Killing was seen as work, as well as fulfilling the country's duty. On the other hand not killing was viewed as betrayal especially for thousands of peasants. Almost the entire population took part in the killings. The Gacaca is a unique approach of trying genocide perpetrators adopted in Rwanda. In this thesis I argue that it is through examination of different historical and social factors that the relevance of the Gacaca can be assessed. Furthermore my argument is that Rwanda needs a multi-faceted approach to confront complex problems that it faces politically and socially.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

and key words Politics and Social Practice of Collective Violence in Bohemian Lands 1944-1946 Doctoral Thesis Jaromír Mrňka, Charles University, Prague, 2017. The thesis is focused on the acts of collective violence that took place in the territory of the Bohemian lands in the period between years 1944 and 1946. Despite the traditional interpretation of the May 1945 as a crucial reversal, the general explanation focuses on the collective violence as a phenomenon overlapping traditional turning points. Remaining high amount of violent interactions is an element connecting the final war operations with the first weeks and months after. Applying concepts of political sociology (Charles Tilly), social psychology (Philip Zimbardo) and microsociology (Randall Collins) the thesis strive to capture interdependent nature of collective violence between its structural preconditions and situational dynamics. Based on the quantitative evaluation of the acts of collective violence, the first step outlines a macro social topography of collective violence. The main point is an identification of key actors of the politics of collective violence and their correlation to basic configurations of particular political regimes (i.e. occupational regime of the so called Protectorate and limited democratic regime of...

This study aims to interrogate the representations of forgiveness in post genocide Rwandan fiction. The novels analysed are Inyenzi: A story of Love and Genocide (2007), Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust (2006) and God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation (2009). Inyenzi: A story of Love and Genocide represents romantic love as the possible beginning of reconciliation between the Tutsi and the Hutus after and the devastations of the genocide. Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust reveals that the individualistic portrayal of forgiveness is important to create communication between antagonistic ethnic groups. God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation demonstrates that forgiveness and reconciliation have the possibilities of being attainable on a national level through political reforms. The narratives succeed in portraying the representations of forgiveness but due to the subjectivities of the authors, the historicity of the genocide is undermined thereby compromising the foundations for forgiveness. This study suggests that future research on post genocide Rwandan could analyse creative works on forgiveness but focussing on the issue of restorative justice
English Studies
M. A. (English Studies)