Who was Raphael Lemkin?

A lot of people have heard the word ‘genocide’. However, very few people know the story of the man who coined the term. Learn more about Raphael Lemkin’s life and his tireless campaign to have genocide recognised as a crime that should be prevented and punished. Take a look at the PowerPoint we’ve created and test your understanding with our knowledge check.

When and where was Raphael Lemkin born?

1900…in Eastern Europe

1916…in England

1920…in USA

1905…in Asia

Which atrocity first made him think about the destruction of groups of people?

9/11

The persecution of Uighur people in China

The persecution of Christians in Roman times and attacks on Armenians by Turks during the First World War

The Holocaust

What was Lemkin’s job in Warsaw after he left university?

Lawyer

Businessman

Teacher

Accountant

In the 1930s Raphael Lemkin came up with some words to describe crimes against groups of people. These words were:

Vandalism and brutality

Barbarity and vandalism

Barbarity and genocide

Genocide and crimes against humanity

When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939 what did Lemkin have to do?

He fled his home in Warsaw and became a refugee…making his way to Sweden

He fled his home in Warsaw and became a refugee…making his way to Sweden and having to leave his family behind.

He stayed in Warsaw

He fled his home in Warsaw and became a refugee…making his way to Belgium

How did Lemkin find out about the atrocities that the Nazis were committing in Poland?

He used the internet to research

He read about it in newspapers in Sweden

He was able to travel back into Poland after he first escaped

He persuaded businessmen who travelled in Poland to collect and send him information

What two words did Lemkin use to form the word ‘Genocide’?

Genocide combined the French word ‘genos’ meaning to kill and Russian word ‘cide’ meaning group.

Genocide combined the Greek word ‘genos’ meaning to kill and English word ‘cide’ meaning group.

Genocide combined the Greek word ‘genos’ meaning to kill and Latin word ‘cide’ meaning group.

Genocide combined the Greek word ‘genos’ meaning group and Latin word ‘cide’ meaning to kill.

When did Lemkin coin the term ‘genocide’?

1948

1947

1944

1945

When did the United Nations recognise genocide as a crime?

1945

1947

1944

1948

Where did Lemkin die, penniless, in 1959?

New York

Stockholm

Warsaw

London

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Who was Raphael Lemkin?

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