HUMAN 1C Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Pol Pot, Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Bsc Young Boys
Lecture #11: Warfare, Memory, and Cambodia
Binh Danh - Portraits of Cambodians on leaves that he got from his mother’s backyard.
“The music is the one thing that has allowed the Cambodian people to access a time when their
life wasn’t about war and genocide.” -John Pirozzi, Director, Dont Think I’ve Forgotten
● It took twelve years to collect what is seen in the documentary. This has initiated more
individuals to upload what they have.
French Colonialism
● French Indochina (protectorate 1863 to 1953)
○ French focused on Vietnam because they could place sea ports here, as where
Cambodia was landlocked. Cambodia had a period where they gained
independence and were beginning to modernize as the Vietnam war was raging
on their borders. Cambodia wanted to remain neutral.
● Cambodia / Kampuchea - name depends on political period
● Khmer - People/language of Cambodia
Collateral Damage of US Empire
● Cambodia was pulled into the war against its will (of both political leadership and its
people).
● The demilitarized zone divided North and South Vietnam and was a very small area that
was heavily guarded. So the North Vietnamese entered the South via Laos and
Cambodia so the US (Nixon) began to bomb Cambodia without the knowledge of
Congress or the American public. About 3 million bombs were dropped in Cambodia out
of the 6 million total in Southeast Asia at the time.
● The bombing created a political vacuum for the communist force the Khmer Rouge and
created a civil war in Cambodia. As US bombings continued, the Khmer Rouge gained
power and was able to overthrow the government.
● April 17, 1975 - Khmer Rouge enters Phnom Penh and the civil war ends. Citizens
hoped that this would at least mean peace and that the bombing of their country would
finally end, and the war in Vietnam ended by April 30th.
● It’s very difficult to rebuild after Civil War. Khmer Rouge combined Soviet and Chinese
models to create an extreme form of communism and they created a completely new
society. They closed off the borders of their country and kicked out foreigners, as
foreigners ruined their country in the first place. From here they would rebuild their
society. They eradicated institutions- factories, hospitals, schools, post offices, etc. They
destroyed everything created to Western power and technology, no cars, motorcycles,
radios, or cameras. They began to execute wealthy, privileged, and educated individuals
and those who had opposed them. Politicians, military, artists, teachers, engineers,
professors were killed. They wanted to create a classless society where everyone was
equal. They also didn’t recognize family relationships - loyalty would be to the
government to nothing else.
● They were kicked out of the city, and executed if they refused to leave. Very few images
because cameras had been destroyed.
● Democratic Kampuchea: “year zero” - they were completely restarting their society
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Binh danh - portraits of cambodians on leaves that he got from his mother"s backyard. The music is the one thing that has allowed the cambodian people to access a time when their life wasn"t about war and genocide. -john pirozzi, director, dont think i"ve forgotten. It took twelve years to collect what is seen in the documentary. This has initiated more individuals to upload what they have. French focused on vietnam because they could place sea ports here, as where. Cambodia had a period where they gained independence and were beginning to modernize as the vietnam war was raging on their borders. Cambodia / kampuchea - name depends on political period. Cambodia was pulled into the war against its will (of both political leadership and its people). The demilitarized zone divided north and south vietnam and was a very small area that was heavily guarded. So the north vietnamese entered the south via laos and.
