The urge for destruction is also a creative urge!
Mikhail BakuninRead
Genocide has two phases: one, destruction of the national pattern of the oppressed group; the other, the imposition of the national pattern of the oppressor. This imposition, in turn, may be made upon the oppressed population which is allowed to remain or upon the territory alone, after removal of the population and the colonization by the oppressor's own nationals.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Genocide involves both destroying the culture of a people and replacing it with that of the oppressor.
Raphael Lemkin's quote highlights the dual nature of genocide: first involves the eradication of the cultural identity and societal patterns of the oppressed group, while the second involves enforcing the culture and norms of the oppressor on the surviving population or the territory. This reflects not only a physical destruction but also a deeper, more insidious form of cultural annihilation where the identity of the oppressed is systematically replaced or erased.
Themes
GenocideOppressionCultureIdentityColonizationHistory
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing human rights, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of cultural preservation.
Similar quotes
To be obsessed by God is to have an effective barricade against all the assaults of the enemy.
Oswald ChambersRead
The true measure of a man is not his intelligence or how high he rises in this freak establishment. No, the true measure of a man is this: how quickly can he respond to the needs of others and how much of himself he can give.
Philip K. DickRead
The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person.
Barack ObamaRead
It is quite rare for God to provide a great man at the necessary moment to carry out some great deep, which is why when this unusual combination of circumstance does occur, history at once records the name of the chosen one and recommends him to the admiration of posterity.
Alexandre DumasRead
To denounce does not free the self from what it hates, any more than ignoring the past shuts off its influence.
Jacques BarzunRead