Defining an Unimaginable Crime: The Story of Raphael Lemkin
Published in
May 3, 2021
Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jewish lawyer, escaped the Nazis but lost 49 members of his family in the Holocaust. He coined the word genocide in 1944 to describe the deliberate attempt to wipe out a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Lemkin devoted the last 15 years of his life to lobbying governments to recognize genocide as an international crime and changed the legal landscape. Despite his impact, he died alone and penniless in 1959.
In this digital program, a researcher and Museum historian discuss Lemkin’s contributions toward helping survivors achieve a measure of justice.
