At a quiet New York cemetery in 1959, a handful of people stand around a fresh grave as a casket is lowered. Any passerby seeing the small somber ceremony might assume that the body belonged to a person of little significance. In fact, this casket carries the body of a man who is responsible for one of the largest shifts in international law in human history. Without his efforts, it is likely that the gravest crime mankind has ever committed and continues to commit would still be a crime without a name.
By the end of World War II, the Nazi regime had orchestrated the murder of over 17 million civilians in concentration camps throughout Europe. 1 Despite these egregious atrocities, no one at the time referred to the Holocaust as an act of genocide, not because it was not an appropriate descriptor, but because Raphael Lemkin had not yet coined the word and defined the crime for the world. The outcome of his personal crusade to encode ‘Genocide’ in an internationally recognized and binding Convention to which the US would sign on became his legacy (the US signed on decades after his passing).
Lemkin was born to a Polish-Jewish family in 1900 in a small village called Bezwodne in what was then The Russian Empire. Home schooled by his mother, he proved to be a brilliant scholar. By the time he received his undergraduate degree from Jan Kazimierz University he had learned over 14 languages and showed strong aptitude and interest in international law. After a career as a prosecutor in Poland, he was forced to flee to Sweden to evade capture by the Nazi forces in 1939. However 49 of his relatives were tortured and/or killed, drops in the ocean of inhumanity that was the Holocaust. 2
After fleeing the Nazi invasion, Lemkin eventually made his way to the United States. There he became a prolific professor, lecturing at the law school at Duke University in 1941 and the School of Military Government at the University of Virginia in 1942. He also served as an adviser to the United States War Department specializing in international law. 3
The world first became aware of Lemkin’s concept of genocide after the publication of what would arguably be his most important work, Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, in 1944. Primarily a legal analysis of the behavior of Nazi Germany in occupied territories during World War 2, the book also contained a full definition of the crime Lemkin dubbed “genocide.” 4 After this publication, Lemkin dedicated the rest of his life to getting the international community to acknowledge genocide as a crime under international law.
Lemkin drafted a resolution for a treaty which would officially ban genocide under international law. He then took his resolution on the road, presenting it to any nation which would hear him, hoping to garner enough support to endorse a convention on the subject. After years of lobbying the international community, The United States UN delegation agreed to present Lemkin’s resolution to the General Assembly. Dubbed “The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” the resolution was adopted on December 9th, 1948. It would be another 3 years before enough countries signed on the the convention to make it enforceable. Much to Lemkin’s dismay, The United States was not one of the first 20 signatories. 5
Lemkin dedicated the rest of his life to lobbying those nations which had not yet signed onto the convention, with the United States being his primary target. He invested every moment of his time and every cent of his modest wealth to landing that particular white whale. He eventually died of a heart attack, impoverished, unemployed, and underappreciated, in 1959. His funeral was a small affair, reportedly only attended by 7 people. 6 Yet, today, the is no Law School, no class that teaches Human Rights, nor any conversation of World War II and any of the subsequent Genocides that does not mention his name. More importantly, the Convention provided some tools to prevent or punish such cases.
The greater legacy of his life’s work would not be realized until several decades after Lemkin’s death. The United States would eventually sign the Genocide Convention, but not until 1988. The international community would eventually convict a man of the crime Lemkin coined, but not until the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 1998 which found Jean-Paul Akayesu guilty of the Rwandan genocide. Three years after that, Radislav Krstic was similarly convicted for the murder of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Yugoslavia. 7 Though he died nearly 40 years too early to see the fruits of his labor truly flourish, we can hope that his soul finds solace in the fact that, thanks to him, these heinous actions have a name and are viewed the world over as being among the worst crimes humanity has ever known. Eradicating the crime of genocide still eludes us but at least accountability is now more widespread around the world. 8
- Donald Niewyk and Francis R. Nicosia, The Columbia Guide to the Holocaust (New York: Columbia University, 2000), 43. ↵
- Raphael Lemkin and Donna-Lee Frieze, Totally Unofficial: The Autobiography of Raphael Lemkin (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013). ↵
- Robert Bliwise, “The Man Who Criminalized Genocide,” Duke Magazine, November 14, 2013, http://dukemagazine.duke.edu/article/man-who-criminalized-genocide . ↵
- Rafael Lemkin, Axis Rule in Occupied Europe: Laws of Occupation, Analysis of Government, Proposals for Redress, (Washington D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Department of International Law, 1944) pg. 79. ↵
- Raphael Lemkin and Donna-Lee Frieze, Totally Unofficial: The Autobiography of Raphael Lemkin (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013). ↵
- Jay Winter, “Prophet Without Honors” The Chronicle, June 3, 2013, https://www.chronicle.com/article/Raphael-Lemkin-a-Prophet/139515 . ↵
- Robert Bliwise, “The Man Who Criminalized Genocide,” Duke Magazine, November 14, 2013, http://dukemagazine.duke.edu/article/man-who-criminalized-genocide . ↵
- United Nations, “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” United Nations Treaty Collection, 78:1, 1021 (9 December 1948), New York: United Nations, 1951, 278-311. ↵
175 comments
Montserrat Moreno Ramirez
I found very interesting to know that genocide is a law and not only a description for a mass murder! I think is great that in spite of his history, instead of having a bad outcome and trying to seek revenge, he was smart enough to overcome his “issues” and Lemkin became a really well educated man who give his opinion about the topic and actually ended up making a great contribution to the human society .
Montserrat Moreno Ramirez
I didn’t know that a genocide is not only a word that describes mass murder, but a law! I think is great that in spite of his history, instead of having a bad outcome and trying to seek revenge, he was smart enough to overcome his “issues” and Lemkin became a really well educated man who give his opinion about the topic and actually ended up making a great contribution to the human society .
Engelbert Madrid
I’m glad I had the time to read this article. This article was interesting, not only because Raphael Lemkin was the first person to describe The Holocaust as a genocide, but he also had personal background experience with people in his family that were brutally hurt and/or killed by Nazis for being Jewish. Therefore, his point of view and knowledge of the Holocaust should be recognized and respected.
Gabriela Ochoa
This was a very interesting article, I always figured that Genocide was just a word that was used to describe a mass murder but never knew that it had its on convention or that it was an international law. I also had never heard of Raphael Lemkin or his work in international law here and overseas. It seems to be a recurring thing that such great ideas tend to go unnoticed until after that person has passed. I’m glad that his idea of the concept of Genocide was finally seen and is in good use today.
Victoria Rodriguez
I loved this! I have never inquired who coined genocide, because its meaning is larger than its roots. However, it needed to be done and it needed to change how intellectuals talked about human rights. What always gets me, is that people like Lemkin often receive attentions or praise after death. I suppose if he were the type of person to care about that he would not have coined one of the most important terms in human rights. Great article Matt!
Daniela Duran
This was truly an interesting article! I can’t believe that we do not give importance to people as important Lemkin, especially when they have made such a big impact in our community. I do think that his works and his legacy have meant so much to us, that he will never be forgotten across time, but I wish he had been alive by the time this law was actually made official. I likes how you ended by saying that his soul will rejoice in noticing that his work has given us the ability to understand how horrible genocide can be, hence leading to the capturing of very dangerous people. What he did was amazing and should not be forgotten.
Adrian Cook
This was a very interesting article on Lemkin that shows his amazing teachings as a professor and hard work to accomplish his goal for International Law. Having overcome the struggles of Nazi troops and fleeing to a much safer place where he can continue his work just goes to show the impact he had for the world. It’s crazy to know the word genocide barely came about in the year 1944 and to this day has one of the most influential and powerful words when you think of a crime.
Christopher Hohman
Nice article. I had never heard of Lemkin before this article. He did truly a great thing for the world and all the citizens of it. His definition of genocide really helped people classify the acts of the Nazis and those that followed them appropriately. I wonder why it took so long for countries to enforce this definition. To me it is just natural to want to hold those people accountable. I wonder what they called genocide before Limkens definition
Max Lerma
Thanks for this article, Matt! Raphael Lemkin was a truly incredible man and brilliant scholar. This article serves as both a powerful reminder of his efforts and another method to immortalize him. It is sad to see that more than just those who take human right’s classes are not fully aware of his contributions as a researcher and advocate of he oppressed, but it has been interesting and enjoyable reading your article detailing the ways he left his mark on our world.
Angel Torres
I find it interesting how the word genocide wasn’t coined until Lemkin’s Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, in 1944. Genocides had occurred prior to the Holocaust, therefore, I would’ve imagined it was coined before 1944. The intro to the article accurately sums up the story of Raphael Lemkin. Lemkin’s work had a significant impact on international law, however, it wasn’t until years later after his death, in which Lemkins work gained international publicity. Well written and structures article.