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Genocide
(3,006 words)

The term “genocide” was coined in 1944 by the Polish-Jewish jurist Raphael Lemkin (1900–1959) to characterize the crime committed by the Axis powers in the Second World War, primarily against the civilian population of occupied nations. Largely at his instigation, the United Nations adopted the Genocide Convention in December 1948. In the interwar period, Lemkin had already advocated the achievement of an interna…

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Kraft, Claudia, “Genocide”, in: Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture Online, Original German Language Edition: Enzyklopädie Jüdischer Geschichte und Kultur. Im Auftrag der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig herausgegeben von Dan Diner. © J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart/Springer-Verlag GmbH Deutschland 2011–2017. Consulted online on 01 June 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2468-8894_ejhc_COM_0258>
First published online: 2017
First print edition: 20200106



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