Genocide, Warfare and Genophilia Virtual Internet Museum

The proposed Genocide Museum is an Internet site that will graphically detail what peoples have been purposefully annihilated around the world, by what means, for what reason and at whose hands they died, and what ideological conflict was involved in the genocidal event.

This web site will use research material developed by numerous authors, authorities, government archives, and ethnic organizations to provide, as accurately as possible, the facts regarding the 170 million people who have died in this century alone, as well as those many millions who died in earlier periods. The format will be such that it is highly intuitive and easy to maneuver in, with very few levels of hierarchy. The main page will contain a brief statement about the site, followed by one or more maps with icons showing where genocides have occurred. Clicking on an icon (fire bombing, starvation, murder, etc.) will bring up the facts about that genocide including photographs, a detailed summary of what took place and why, and references for further reading.

This site will not focus on the horrible nature of genocide; instead, it will look at why genocide occurs, from an evolutionary perspective that will also remind the visitor that if past genocide rates had continued during the 20th century, about 1 billion people would have been expected to be killed in the last 100 years. That is, as we learn new ways to cooperate with others for our own advancement, humans are, in fact, becoming far less genocidal than ever before. This site will be dedicated to shedding light on the evolutionary process of individual as well as group fitness. Groups are innately aware of differences between themselves and others, whether based on ethnicity, race, religion, or clubs. Humans are highly adapted to group activity and responsive to group-based motivations. Any attempt to formulate rational government policy must take this innate human trait into account.

The Genocide Museum will be, therefore, not only a journey into warfare and genocide, but an exposition of neo-Darwinist investigations and discoveries that have come to light in the last few years, thanks to such disciplines as ethnology, behavior genetics, human ethology, evolutionary psychology and sociobiology. It will be aimed at encouraging the public to consider not only cultural factors, but also our evolutionary past, in trying to understand ways in which we interact. Humans are easily indoctrinated and will follow their leaders into wars or national cooperation, depending on the propaganda used. World democracies must be made aware of the hazards of ignoring and even exacerbating group conflicts, or else they will have to resort to totalitarian means to get everyone to follow the leader, for good or ill. This web site is dedicated to an empirical understanding of genocide, without promoting any particular political agenda.

We are asking for assistance or contributions from anyone interested in this project: written material, graphics, photos, summaries of events, or web site development and maintenance. Any help you can provide would be appreciated.