Lesson plan
Killing Fields
at Choeung Ek containing the skulls of victims The Killing Fields ( , ) are a network of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were executed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime during the period of Democratic Kampuchea from 1975 to 1979. The killings formed part of the Cambodian genocide, in which an estimated 1.7 to 2.2 million people died through execution, forced labour, starvation, and disease under the rule of the Communist Party of Kampuchea led by Pol Pot. The term "killing fields" was popularised by Cambodian journalist Dith Pran, who survived the Khmer Rouge regime and later used the phrase to describe the mass execution sites scattered throughout the country. The phrase subsequently became internationally known through the 1984 film The Killing Fields. More than 20,000 mass grave sites have been identified across Cambodia. Many victims were former officials of the Khmer Republic, members of the armed forces, intellectuals, professionals, teachers, religious figures, and civilians accused of political disloyalty or association with foreign governments. Ethnic and religious minorities, including ethnic Vietnamese, Chinese Cambodians, Chams, Thais, Christians, and Buddhist monks, were also systematically targeted. Sociologist Martin Shaw described the Cambodian genocide as "the purest genocide of the Cold War era".…
Article summary
at Choeung Ek containing the skulls of victims The Killing Fields ( , ) are a network of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were executed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime during the period of Democratic Kampuchea from 1975 to 1979. The killings formed part of the Cambodian genocide, in which an estimated 1.7 to 2.2 million people died through execution, forced labour, starvation, and disease under the rule of the Communist Party of Kampuchea led by Pol Pot. The term "killing fields" was popularised by Cambodian journalist Dith Pran, who survived the Khmer Rouge regime and later used the phrase to describe the mass execution sites scattered throughout the country. The phrase subsequently became internationally known through the 1984 film The Killing Fields. More than 20,000 mass grave sites have been identified across Cambodia. Many victims were former officials of the Khmer Republic, members of the armed forces, intellectuals, professionals, teachers, religious figures, and civilians accused of political disloyalty or association with foreign governments. Ethnic and religious minorities, including ethnic Vietnamese, Chinese Cambodians, Chams, Thais, Christians, and Buddhist monks, were also systematically targeted. Sociologist Martin Shaw described the Cambodian genocide as "the purest genocide of the Cold War era".…
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.