Genocide studies is an academic field of study that researches genocide . Genocide became a field of study in the mid-1940s , with the work of Raphael Lemkin , who coined the term " genocide " and is the field 's founding father . The Holocaust was initially the primary subject matter of genocide studies , and the field received an extra impetus in the 1990s , when the Rwandan genocide took place . The beginning of genocide research arose around the 1940s when Raphael Lemkin , a Polish-Jewish lawyer , began studying genocide . Known as the " father of the genocide convention , " Lemkin made the term genocide and studied it during World War II . An issue that arose for scholars when looking at the term genocide was what it actually meant . In 1944 , Lemkin published a book titled '' Axis Rule '' , which is where he introduced his idea of genocide . In chapter nine of his book , he defined genocide as being " the destruction of a nation or ethnic group " . After his book was published , controversy broke out concerning the specific definition of genocide . Many scholars believed that genocide is naturally associated with mass murder , the Holocaust being the first case , but there were also several other scholars who believed genocide has a much broader definition and is not strictly tied to the Holocaust . In Lemkin 's book , he says that " physical and biological genocide are always preceded by cultural genocide or by an attack on the symbols of the group or violent interference of cultural activities . " He concludes that genocide is the annihilation of a group 's culture even if the group themselves are not completely destroyed
Rwandan genocide
Rwandan genocide
Genocide studies