Beginning on April 6, 1994, Hutus began a mass massacre of Tutsis in the African country of Rwanda. This mass slaughter is labeled genocide, the deliberate annihilation of an ethnic, racial, religious, or political group. The Rwandan genocide lasted 100 days while other countries stood by and watched as the brutal killings continued. Hatred against Tutsis began after the RPF invasion in October 1990. Accusations from editorials and radio broadcasts claimed that Tutsis wanted to establish a monarchy with Hutu slaves; another racial slur included all Tutsis being called cockroaches. Many years before the Rwandan genocide, a similar deliberate extinction occurred. Between 1933 and 1945, Nazi Party members murdered over six million Jews in what is now known as the Holocaust. The genocide began when the Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to pay large monetary reparations to other nations. As stated by Sean Sheehan in Why Did the Holocaust Happen? (2011), “Some anti-Semites saw the harsh terms of the treaty as part of a Jewish conspiracy against the German people. Wealthy Jews in Germany were accused of investing their money in enemy countries instead of joining the German army” (p. 7). Jews were soon accused of plotting world domination and spreading communism to destroy Christian culture. Hatred of Jewish culture grew as several Jews held government positions in the Weimar era. Similarities The Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide showed some similarities when they occurred. Both described certain characteristics and conditions for genocide to occur: a national culture that did not place a high value on human life; a totalitarian society with a superior ideology; ...... half of the sheet ...... conditions necessary for them to occur. With history to fall back on, it is unclear whether another act of genocide could occur today. The Holocaust showed how international forces can and should intervene in scenarios of this nature; however, international forces stood by during the Rwandan genocide. History is very contradictory and no one can predict the results that await us. One can only hope that people will stand up for what is right and take action. Works Cited Mare, J. (2011). Genocide Watch updates Afrikaner genocide to stage 6. The Afrikaner Journal. Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://afrikanerjournal.wordpress.com/tag/gregory-stanton/Melvern, L. (2004). Conspiracy to Assassinate: The Rwandan Genocide. New York, NY: Verso.Sheehan, S. (2011). Why the Holocaust Happened (1st ed.). New York, NY: Gareth Stevens Publishing.