Massacres Throughout History
"Massacre" is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "the indiscriminate and brutal slaughter of people (or less commonly of animals); carnage, butchery, slaughter in numbers." It also states that the term is used "in the names of certain massacres of history".
Click here for Wikipedia"s "List of events named massacres." | Click here for Wikipedia's list of "Massacres in the United States."
The word is used by this website to mean multiple murders of a relatively defenseless group of people by a more powerful group in a short period of time. Murders by a single perpetrator are excluded, as are most battles waged during wartime. Click here for monuments related to the Holocaust (Shoah). Click here for monuments related to other genocides.
The graphic shown above is "Massacre in Korea" by Pablo Picasso (1951). It depicts a group of naked women and children being fired at by a group of helmeted but anonymous soldiers. Picasso was inspired by the No Gun Ri Massacre of July 26-29, 1950 (see below).
The following chart lists selected massacres rank ordered by number of deaths. It is a sub-set of this website's Selected List of Human Tragedies (which includes an explanation of color codes used in the Cause column).
| Human Tragedy | Deaths | Place | Date | Cause | Principal Memorial | |
| Partition of India | .5-1 Million |   India & Pakistan | 1947 |  Hindus & Muslims | Various paintings | |
| Rape of Nanking | 300,000 |  Nanjing, China | 1937 Dec | Imperial Japan | Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall | |
| Hama Massacre | 10-80,000 |  Hama, Syria | 1982 Feb | Syrian Army | ||
| Odessa Massacre | 25-34,000 |  Odessa, Ukraine | 1941 Oct 22-4 |  Nazis+Romanians | Monument to the victims, Odessa | |
| Babi Yar Massacre | 33,771 | Kiev, Ukraine | 1941 Sep 29-30 | Nazi Germany | Babi Yar Monument, Kiev | |
| Parsley Massacre (El Corte) | 20-30,000 |  Dominican Republic | 1937 Oct | Dominican Army | ||
| St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre | 5-30,000 |  Paris, France | 1572 Aug-Sep | Roman Catholic mobs | Various paintings | |
| Rumbula Massacre | 25,000 |  Rumbula Forest, Latvia | 1941 Nov-Dec | Nazi Germany | "Soviet Era" Marker, Rumbula | |
| Katyn Forest Massacre | 21,768 |  Near Smolensk, USSR | 1940 March | Russia | National Katyn Memorial, Baltimore, MD | |
| Partition of Palestine (Nakba) | 13,000+ |   Israel & Palestine | 1948 | Zionists
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| 228 Incident | 10,000+ |  Taipei, Taiwan | 1947 Feb 28 | Koumintang | National 228 Memorial Museum, Taipei | |
| Massacre of the Innocents | Few-10,000 | Bethlehem, Judea | Early AD | Herod the Great | "Massacre of the Innocents" (Rubens c1611) | |
| Srebrenica Massacre | 8,000+ |  Bosnia & Herzegovina | 1995 July | Serbian
Army | Genocide Memorial, Potocari | |
| Sabra & Shatila Massacres | 700-3,500 |  South Beirut, Lebanon | 1982 Sep 16-8 | Phalangists & Israel | Martyrs Square of Sabra & Shatila Massacres | |
| Tiananmen Square Massacre | 100s-1000s | Beijing, China | 1989 Jun 4 | Govt of China | "Goddess of Democracy" (temporary) | |
| Balangiga Retalliation | 2-3,000 |  Balangiga, Samar, Philippines | 1901 Aug-Sep |  US Army | Balangiga Bells, Cheyenne, WY (booty) | |
| Kragujevac Massacre | 2,796 |  Kragujevac, Serbia | 1941 Oct 21 | Nazi Germany | October 21 Memorial Park, Kragujevac | |
| Jallianwala Bagh Massacre | 379-1,000 | Amritsar, India | 1919 Apr 13 |  British Army | Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial | |
| Marzabotto Massacre | 770 |  Monte Sole, Italy | 1944 Oct | Waffen SS | Peace School Foundation, Monte Sole | |
| Oradour Massacre | 642 | Oradour-sur-Glane, France | 1944 Jun 10 | Waffen SS | Centre de la mémoire d'Oradour | |
| Khojali Massacre | 613 |  Khojali, Azerbaijan | 1992 Feb 25 | Armenian+Russian military | Memorial in Lankaran | |
| My Lai Massacre | 347-504 |  My Lai, Vietnam | 1968 Mar 16 | US Army | My Lai Peace Park (Madison Quakers) | |
| Fort Mims Massacre | 500+ | Fort Mims, Alabama, USA | 1813 Aug 30 | Creek Indians | Fort Mims State Hist Site, Tensaw, AL | |
| Paoli Massacre | 400+ | Paoli, Pennsylvania, USA | 1777 Sep 20-1 |  British Army | Granite Monument (1877) | |
| Sand Creek Massacre | 400 | Kiowa County, CO, USA | 1864 Nov 29 | Colorado Terr Militia | Sand Creek Massacre National Hist Site | |
| No Gun Ri Massacre | 400? |  No Gun Ri, South Korea | 1950 Jul 26–9 | US Army | No Gun Ri International Peace Park | |
| Massacre of Pioneers | 400 less | Great Plains, USA | 1842-1859 |  Plains Indians | Massacre Rocks State Park, Idaho | |
| Fort Caroline Massacre | Hundreds | Jacksonville, Florida, USA | 1565 Sep 29 | Spanish v. French | Fort Caroline National Memorial | |
| Wounded Knee Massacre | c.325 | Pine Ridge IR, SD, USA | 1890 Dec 29 | US Army | National Historic Landmark | |
| Jedwabne Pogrom | 300 plus |  Jedwabne, Poland | 1941 Jul 10 | Polish Gentiles | Jedwabne Memorial, Poland | |
| Deir Yassin Massacre | 300? | Near Jerusalem, Israel | 1948 Apr 9 | Irgun + Stern Group | "Deir Yassin Remembered," Geneva, NY | |
| Battle of Little Big Horn | 263 | Crow Agency, MT, USA | 1876 Jun 25-6 | USA v. Indians | Little Big Horn Battlefield Nat Mon | |
| Fort Pillow Massacre | 231 | Henning, Tennessee, USA | 1864 Apr 4 |  Confederate Army | Fort Pillow State Park | |
| Paris Massacre of Algerians | 70-200 | Paris, France | 1961 Oct 17 | French National Police | Plaque on Saint-Michel bridge | |
| Protest Massacre | 157 |  Conakry, Guinea | 2009 Sep 29 | Guinean Army | Peaceful transition of power | |
| Colfax Massacre | 83-153 | Colfax, Louisiana USA | 1873 Apr 13 |  Rioting Whites | Liberty Monument, New Orleans, LA | |
| Shelling of Qana | 106 | UN Compound, Qana, Lebanon | 1996 Apr 18 | Israel Defense Forces
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| Gnadenhütten Massacre | 96 | Gnadenhütten, Ohio, USA | 1782 Mar 8 | Pennsylvania Militia | Gnadenhütten Memorial (1872) | |
| Massacre of Vassy | 80+ | Wassy, Haute-Marne, France | 1562 Mar 1 | Francis, Duc de Guise | Huguenot Memorial Museum, South Africa | |
| Hadassah Med Convoy Massacre | 79 |
Mount Scopus, Israel | 1948 Apr 13 | Arab forces | Marble memorial near Nashashibi Bend | |
| Jenin Massacre | c.75 | Refugee Camp, Jenin, Palestine | 2002 Apr 1-11 | Israel Defense Forces | Museum in Old Hijaz Railway building? | |
| Qibya Massacre | 69 | Qibya, West Bank, Palestine | 1953 Oct | Israel Defense Forces | Memorial plaque behind Qibya mosque | |
| Hebron Massacre | 67 | Hebron, West Bank, Palestine | 1929 Aug 23-4 | Arabs vs. Jews | Film "What I Saw in Hebron" (1999) | |
| Gandamak Massacre | 64 |  Gandamak, Afghanistan | 1842 Jan 13 | UK vs. Insurgents | ? | |
| Operation Entebbe | 58 |  Entebbe Airport, Uganda | 1976 Jul 4 | Palestinian terrorists | Entebbe Memorial, Philadelphia, PA, USA | |
| Kafr Qasim Massacre | 49 | Kafr Qasim, Israel | 1956 Oct 29 | Israel Border Police | Kafr Qasim Memorial & Museum | |
| Tulsa Race Riot | 39 | Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA | 1921 May 31 | Rioting Whites | Greenwood Cultural Center | |
| Massacre of Glencoe | 38 |  Glencoe, Scotland | 1692 Feb 13 | Govt troops (Campbells) | Glencoe Monument (McDonalds) | |
| Coastal Road Massacre | 38 | Highway 2, Israel | 1978 Mar 11 | Abu Jihad | Charred coach, Egged Museum, Holon | |
| Cave of the Patriarchs Massacre | 29 | Hebron, West Bank, Palestine | 1994 Feb 25 | Baruch Goldstein | Cave of the Patriarchs (unintentional) | |
| Conestoga Massacre | 20 | Lancaster County, PA, USA | 1763 Dec 14/27 | Paxton Boys (mob) | "Indian Burial Ground" (no remains) | |
| Ludlow Massacre | 20 | Ludlow, Colorado, USA | 1914 Apr 20 | Colorado State Militia | Ludlow Monument, Ludlow, CO | |
| Munich Olympics Massacre | 17 |  Munich, Germany | 1972 Sep | Black September | Tablet at Olympic Stadium | |
| "Bloody Sunday" | 14 | Londonderry, N. Ireland | 1972 Jan 30 | British Army | Mural by Bogside Artists | |
| Rosewood Massacre | 8 | Rosewood, Florida, USA | 1923 January | Rioting Whites | Ghost Town & Marker | |
| Haymarket Massacre | 7 plus | Chicago, Illinois, USA | 1886 May 4 | Strikers & police | Haymarket Martyrs Monument | |
| Valentine Day Massacre | 7 | Chicago, Illinois, USA | 1929 Feb 14 | Al Capone's gang | Capone Grave, Chicago, IL | |
| Island of Peace Massacre | 7 |  Naharayim, Jordan R., Jordan | 1997 Mar 13 | Corp. Ahmen Daqamseh | Memorial to Victims (Israeli Schoolgirls) | |
| Boston Massacre | 5 | Boston, Massachusetts, USA | 1770 Mar 5 | British troops | Crispus Attucks Monument, Boston, MA | |
| Kent State Massacre | 4 | Kent St U, Kent, Ohio, USA | 1970 May 4 | Ohio National Guard | May 4 Memorial, Kent State Univ |
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June 5, 1872 - Gnadenhütten Monument & Museum, Gnadenhütten, Ohio (USA). 37 foot (11 m) monument, located next to a reconstructed cabin in what was the center of the original village. Inscribed "Here triumphed in death ninety Christian Indians, March 8, 1782." Memorializes victims of the Gnadenhütten Massacre, "the murder of 96 Indians, mostly Delawares, by American troops at an Ohio village during the American Revolution. The Indians, converted peaceful Christians, were under suspicion because of their neutrality in the war. An American officer, David Williamson, and his militia, seeking revenge for Indian raids on frontier settlements, pretended friendship with the Indians, then disarmed them and returned to kill them in cold blood; two scalped boys escaped to relate the slayings.'
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|  January 29, 1879 - Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, Crow Agency, Montana (USA). "The site was first preserved as a national cemetery on January 29, 1879, and in 1881 a memorial obelisk by Durwood Brandon (left image) was erected on Last Stand Hill over the mass grave of the solidiers of the 7th Calvery." An iron "Spirit Warriors Sculpture" by native artist Colleen Cutschall (right image) honoring the Native Americans was placed next to the old memorial in 2002.
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|  1903 - Wounded Knee Monument, Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota (USA). Commemorates the massacre of Wounded Knee on Dec. 29, 1890. "In 1903 a monument was erected at the site of the mass grave by surviving relatives to honor the 'many innocent women and children who knew no wrong' who were killed in the massacre. Today, some family members are still seeking compensation from the US government as heirs of the victims but they have been unsuccessful in receiving any monetary settlement so far."
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|  May 30, 1918 - Ludlow Monument, Ludlow, Colorado (USA). Dedicated on Memorial Day to honor the 20 victims of the "Ludlow massacre" of April 20, 1914. Vandalized in 2003 with the heads and arms of the statue figures cut and removed, but has undergone repair. Maintained by United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). Next to the monument are a cellar door and stairs leading down into the "death pit" where 11 children and two women died when fire broke out in the coal miners' tent city during their battle with the Colorado state militia. Visited by EWL.
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| 1985 - Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by
Japanese Invaders, 418 Shuiximen Street, Jiangdongmen, Nanjing (China). Expanded in 1995 and 2005-2007. Now 25,000 square meters.
Click here for Wikipedia article. Has "academic cooperation agreement" with Kyoto Museum for World Peace. Whole building resembles a broken sword when seen from the side and a plow when seen from above.
|  | December 12, 2003 - Grand Peace Bell, "Memorial Hall for Compatriots Killed in the Nanjing Massacre," Nanjing, Jiangsu Province (China). Dedicated one day before the 66th anniversary of the
Nanjing massacre.
|  December 13, 2003 - Model of the Grand Peace Bell, Kyoto Museum for World Peace, Kyoto (Japan). Presented by the museum in Nanjing. Placed in exhibit on the Jugonen Senso / Fifteen-Year War (1931-1945).
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| February 28, 1995 - National 228 Monument, Taipei (Taiwan). Result of an international design competition. Stands in the center of the 228 Peace Memorial Park. Dedicated by president Lee Teng-hui who apologized to the victims of the 228 Incident in 1947.
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| 1996 - 228 Peace Memorial Park, Zhongzheng district, Taipei (Taiwan). Former Taihoku Park renamed in 1996. Contains the National Taiwan Museum, the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum, and a number of memorials to victims of the 228 Incident of 1947, including the National 228 Monument.
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| 1998 - My Lai Peace Park, My Lai (Vietnam). A project of the Madison Quakers.
Site of the My Lai Massacre by a unit of the US Army on March 16, 1968, of 347–504 unarmed citizens, all of whom were civilians and a majority of whom were women, children (including babies) and elderly people.
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| R E E |  September 24, 2003 - "Deir Yassin Remembered," Seneca Lake (western shore), New York, New York (USA). Bronze sculpture of an uprooted olive tree by [political cartoonist] Khalil Bendib. Inscription: "Earth torn roots yearning, Palestine landscape mourning displaced descendants. Randa Hamwi Duwaji. Perpetrated by terrorists of the Irgun and Stern Gang, the massacre of Palestinian men, women, and children at Deir Yassin on April 9, 1948 is arguably the most pivotal event in 20th century Palestinian history. // The massacre symbolizes the Zionist quest to build a Jewish state on land inhabited for centuries by Muslims, Christians, and Jews. It marks the begining of the descruction of over 400 Palestinian villages and the exile of more than 700,000 Palestinians. // Over half the population in the land controlled by Israel is not Jewish. Most of these non-Jews are Palestinians. Yet there are few memorails to mark their history and none to mark the massacre at Deir Yassin, which lies 3 km west of the Old City of Jerusalem and only 1,400 m to the north of Yad Vashem, the most famous of all the Holocaust memorials. The irony is breathtaking. // Khalil Bendib, Sculptor, 2003. www.deiryassin.org"
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| I L L A G E | April 9, 1948 - Palestinian Village of Deir Yassin (Israel). Unintentional monument. Scene of the Deir Yassin Massacre. Lower photo is Deir Yassin as seen from Yad Vashem; the village lies in the green trees to the right of the water tower.
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| 2010? - No Gun-Ri International Peace Park, No Gun-Ri (South Korea). "In 2007, the South Korean government announced that it would build a $20 million No Gun Ri History Park in the village by 2009.
The following is from a visit on October 7, 2009 (click here for the full account):
"Chung Koo Do is the Director of the No Gun-Ri Institute for Peace Studies and is dedicated to ensuring that the memory of the No Gun-Ri massacre is not lost and that justice prevails. He told me that there were over 500 incidents of killing of civilians during the war but No Gun-ri was the only case investigated by a joint South Korean-US government team. After the No Gun-ri investigation the US said it would not look into any other case.
[July 26-29] 2010 will be the 60th anniversary of No Gun-Ri. Chung told me his organization is planning to sponsor several important events to commemorate the massacre. He hopes that US soldiers who were involved in the Korean War will come for the events and he particularly hopes that Veterans for Peace in the US will send a delegation to Korea during this time. He asked me to help them make that possible and I told him I would do my best.
Chung pointed out with great pride the large area surrounding the No Gun-ri massacre site that will become a peace park. The South Korean government is now building a peace museum, educational facilities, and memorials. The survivors, and their descendants, are determined to keep the memory of No Gun-ri in the forefront of international peace movement efforts." (Click here for an account of a meeting with survivors in the USA on November 10, 1999.)
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