When it comes to murderous and barbarous dictators, Hitler holds the crown. However, Pol Pot of Cambodia was considered by many historians to be even worse! Over a four-year span from 1975 to 1979 an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people died under his systemic “reeducation” of Cambodia. Doctors, teachers, or anyone with a stitch of intelligence were sentenced to hard physical labor for the crime of being smart. Other transgressions included reading, wearing glasses, or speaking a foreign language.
The true number of dead will never be known.
Women, children, even babies were not exempt from the horrors of detention centers, where dissidents were tortured, then killed. The 1984 film, “The Killing Fields” brought attention to one of the worst genocides in human history. Prior to the film, the atrocities went largely unknown.
Cambodian refugees on the Thailand Cambodia border in 1979. Photos by Jay Mather.
A Poor Student
Similar to Hitler, Pol Pot began life as a mediocre student, who failed to even graduate from high school. Unlike the Fuhrer, Pot came from a well-to-do family who owned a large amount of land. Thanks to his parents, he “earned” a scholarship to study in Paris in radio technology.
Despite the golden opportunity, he mostly spent his time becoming active in communist circles while struggling with his studies. Upon returning to Cambodia, he joined the Khmer People’s Revolutionary Party (KPRP).
Human remains in the Cambodian killing fields. allthatsinteresting
Teacher/Seditionist
With Pot’s help, the KPRP turned specifically to Marxism-Leninism. As the rest of the country cracked down on Communism, Pot and other members of the party relocated deep in the jungles of Northern Cambodia, encamping with the Viet Cong. There they formed the Khmer Rouge, their own guerilla army while gaining power and influence in the Northeast region.
1.5 to 2 million people died in just four years.
Civil War
In 1970, General Lon Nol, with the backing of the United States, started his own military coup against Prince Norodom Sihanouk. In order to maintain control, Sihanouk aligned himself with the Khmer Rouge. As the Civil War waged on, numerous war crimes were committed on both sides.
The United States attempted to squash the Khmer Rouge by performing a secret bombing campaign in which they dropped three times as many bombs on Northern Cambodia as they did on Japan during WWII. Unfortunately, the bombings only strengthened the Khmer Rouge, which emerged victorious from the Civil War. Half a million people died during the war but the true horrors had yet to begin.
Children conscripted in tot he Khmer Rouge. Getty
Evacuation of Cambodia’s Capital
When the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh, they immediately stripped the possessions of roughly 2.5 million people before sending civil servants and other professionals to hard labor for “reeducation.” Anyone who complained or broke the litany of insane rules were sent to detention centers to be tortured and killed. One particularly gruesome detention center, S-21, housed 20,000 people of which only seven were known to have survived.
Pol Pot’s Regime
Under the madman, the state regulated every aspect of people’s lives. Personal finances, possessions, religion, even books were outlawed. Children were taken from their families and forced into military service. The clothes people wore, even the words they used were strictly governed. Anyone disobeying these precise laws was sent to detention centers.
The bones of millions filled mass graves across the country as disease, malnutrition, and poor health care ran rampant. Examples of his insanity were exemplified in the forced realignment of rice fields to recreate the symmetrical checkerboard of their emblem.
One of an endless numbers of mass graves. Getty Images
Leading From The Shadows
Unlike other dictators, Pot never subscribed to the cult of personality. He led in obscurity; Pol Pot wasn’t even his real name. The designation, which meant Potential Politics gave him anonymity. Incredibly, his own family members did not know he was the brutal leader of the country. The idea was he could walk down the street and no one would know he was the vicious killer of millions. He personified his dream of a country completely composed of uneducated farmers.
Pot never truly paid for his crimes.
Downfall
Eventually, the Vietnamese sent 60,000 troops across the border and pushed the Khmer Rouge back into the north. There they continued their guerilla actions against the Vietnamese. Unbelievably, Pot received weapons from the Chinese and political support from America, who opposed the Vietnamese occupation.
In 1997, Pot was given a sham of a trial in Cambodia and put under house arrest. At his trial, he stated, “My conscience is clear” concerning the death of millions at his hand. Only a few Khmer Rouge leaders were ever convicted by the United National for crimes against humanity.
