These horrific crimes will make you see Europe in a whole new light. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be discussing the most heinous crimes against humanity that were carried out throughout European history.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be discussing the most heinous crimes against
00:12humanity that were carried out throughout European history.
00:22The German Occupation of Belgium in World War I
00:25War crimes are tragically not a modern phenomenon, with many historical examples dating back
00:29to the very invention of warfare.
00:39The rape of Belgium refers to Germany's occupation of Belgium during World War I, as well as
00:44the atrocities committed during this time.
00:46Over 23,000 people were killed, and 33,000 more injured, as Belgium saw many of her people
00:51deported, detained, or systematically executed.
00:54German forces even constructed a deadly barrier, known as the Wire of Death, to keep in those
00:58native Belgians who sought escape through the border.
01:01The reason behind this disturbing moniker?
01:03The Wire of Death was an electrified fence.
01:12The assassination of Thomas Beckett
01:23Although Thomas Beckett died several centuries ago, his legacy as Lord Chancellor and Archbishop
01:27of Canterbury remains controversial.
01:29King Henry II had appointed Beckett as Archbishop, expecting their already strong relationship
01:34to foster cooperation.
01:35However, both men soon clashed over the Church's rights and privileges, with the King aiming
01:39to limit its power and bring clergy under royal jurisdiction, while Beckett resisted.
01:43Things came to a head in 1170, when four knights who had interpreted Henry's frustrated outburst
01:48as an assassination order marched to the Canterbury Cathedral and killed Beckett.
01:53His assassinations sent shockwaves throughout
02:07both the ecclesiastical and secular communities in England, and turned Beckett into a martyr
02:12who was canonized just three years later.
02:32Chemical Warfare in World War I
02:43Some historians view the widespread use of chemical compounds as weapons during World
02:47War I as a turning point for casualties and mass destruction.
02:50Unfortunately, no single battle or incident stood out as the worst, as chemical warfare
02:54was employed across several fields and campaigns throughout the war.
03:03The use of deadly agents like phosgene, mustard gas, and chlorine to kill or incapacitate
03:08soldiers was extreme, and in direct violation of previously established declarations banning
03:13the implementation of such asphyxiating gases on the battlefield.
03:16Overall, an estimated 1.3 million people were affected by these chemical attacks, with approximately
03:2190,000 losing their lives.
03:37The Crimes of Gilles Duret
03:38It seems beyond the pale.
03:49The fact that a former knight and war hero could descend to the deaths of filth, immorality,
03:53and depravity achieved by one Gilles Duret.
03:56This former compatriot to Joan of Arc was alleged to have desired luxury above all else,
04:00selling off land belonging to his family in order to finance this lifestyle.
04:04It's also been alleged that Duret was a serial killer who targeted children, while also indulging
04:08in demonology and the occult.
04:17Critics today question whether local rumors played a part in fueling his infamous reputation.
04:21However, the soldier himself confessed at his trial to killing many, a crime for which
04:26he was hanged and burned.
04:35Jack the Ripper
04:42Europe has seen more than its fair share of notable serial killers.
04:45From Elizabeth Bathory's Midnight Baths to the Yorkshire Ripper's 1970s killing spree,
04:50perhaps none of them, however, have entered the public consciousness more than Jack the
04:53Ripper.
04:54This Victorian-era slasher haunted the district of Whitechapel, as he stalked sex workers
04:59and dissected them with surgical skill.
05:10Jack's taunting letters to authorities added to his mystery, and the killer was never caught.
05:14This lack of closure has contributed to Jack the Ripper captivating the morbid imaginations
05:18of true crime enthusiasts around the world.
05:29Irkin
05:30This comparatively obscure historical uprising is known by a number of names today, from
05:34the Semi-Retia Revolt to the Central Asian Revolt of 1916.
05:37Still, other historians refer to it simply as Irkin, an attempt by those native to Russian-occupied
05:43Turkestan to fight against the colonialist regime.
05:45The Imperial Russian Army put a stop to Irkin with violence, killing between 100,000 and
05:50500,000 natives.
05:52In the end, many of the Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Tajiks, Turkmen, and Uzbeks living in the region were
05:57dispersed, escaping Irkin by entering areas such as China.
06:00It's a dark period in history that affected not only Europeans living in Russian Turkestan,
06:05but also those of Asian descent caught in the crossfire.
06:15The Spanish Civil War
06:23There are never any winners during a civil war.
06:26The Spanish Civil War of 1936 was a particularly dark time, however, not only for the Spanish
06:30government, but for all of its people.
06:32Nearly half a million people died.
06:34After Generalissimo, Francisco Franco's right-wing nationalists defeated the left-leaning
06:38collaborative of the Second Spanish Republic.
06:46Terror continued in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War as well, since Franco's dictatorial
06:51rule was infamous for its politically motivated violence, repression of free speech, and widespread
06:55censorship.
06:56It was also, paradoxically, a period of healthy growth for Spain's economy.
06:59Yet there's no denying that a post-Francoist Spain was one of more personal freedom and
07:04exponentially less fear.
07:18Ethnic cleansing in the Balkans and Bosnia
07:29It's a story similar to that of wartime chemical warfare, the rampant instances of ethnic cleansing
07:33that occurred in conflicts such as the Balkan Wars.
07:36It's alleged that up to 25,000 Albanians died as a result of either violence or conditions
07:40set into motion by Serbian or Montenegrin forces.
07:47This tactic would be echoed decades later during the Bosnian War of 1992, when Croats
07:52and Bosnian Muslims faced similar attacks from secessionist Serb forces.
07:56It's since been alleged that over a million people were deported by force, while tens
08:00of thousands died or were tortured during the conflict.
08:13The Armenian Tragedy
08:22The area that's known as Turkey today was once the Ottoman Empire.
08:25In the aftermath of the aforementioned Balkan Wars, Ottoman Pasha leaders initiated what's
08:29now referred to as the Armenian Genocide.
08:32A paranoid fear of uprising during a post-war economic downswing was set alight by the tinder
08:37that was racism, nationalism, and the Germanophile political ideologies of leaders like Ismail
08:42Enver.
08:51The result was over a million deaths and forced deportation marches from Constantinople into
08:55concentration camps.
08:57Around the same time, the Ottomans also carried out similar genocides against the Syrians
09:01and Greek people, resulting in the loss of at least 500,000 lives combined.
09:05Turkey, for its part, refuses to acknowledge any of these incidents as genocide.
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09:32The Holocaust
09:41Inconceivable.
09:42It's a word that comes up again and again when many scholastics, educators, and historians
09:47attempt to describe the Holocaust.
09:49Yet the certified proof is all there, in black and white, for everyone to see.
09:52This systematic execution of men, women, and children that were deemed undesirable
09:56to Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party in their plan for ethnic cleansing.
10:10Horrific stories have emerged regarding the amoral medical experiments conducted on prisoners
10:14during the Holocaust.
10:16Stories that echo the Jewish eradication that took place during the Black Death, emphasizing
10:20just how history can repeat itself.
10:22Hitler's final solution serves as a foreboding reminder today of how only a single demagogue
10:27can lead an entire nation down a dangerous path.
10:47Did any of these stories shock you?
10:48Let us know in the comments.