General Eisenhower at the Nazi concentration camp Dachau is one of the iconic images of the 20th century: the liberator in his moment of triumph contemplates the victims of atrocity he arrived too late to save. Just as the Nazi Holocaust of European Jewry is the paradigm of modern genocide, so too is military-humanitarian intervention the Holy Grail for contemporary advocates for ending genocide.

Genocide scholarship has been empirical and analytical in its investigation of the origins of genocide. Its treatment of the ending of genocide has generally been normative and exhortatory. The historical study of the de-escalation of mass group-targeted killing, whether a transitory lull or a definitive end to the violence, is a significant lacuna in the field. This webforum aims to fill that gap, soliciting contributions from scholars and specialists on the subject, including case studies of how particular genocides have ended, and comparative and theoretical analyses of the question.

The How Genocides End project has continued at the World Peace Foundation. We urge you to visit their blog: Ending Mass Atrocities.


Several of these essays were originally presented at a seminar hosted by
the Committee on Conscience of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.