10 Darkest Crimes in European History

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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.

Transcript

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.

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