Today we will talk about mass suicides: here you can recall such cases as the one that happened with the "Temple of the Nations" sect.
Chittorgarh (India)
The history of Asian countries knows many precedents of this kind. One of the reasons for this lies in local traditions. Jauhar - this was the name of the custom according to which noble Rajput women burned themselves in the event of an enemy invasion. The act of self-immolation took place not after the battle, but before it. Thus, the hearts of the warriors were infused with fury, and they fought with even greater fury.
Located in the northwestern part of India, the city of Chittorgarh (the capital of the Mewar principality) survived three sieges, during which the inhabitants of the mass practiced jauhar. The most famous one took place in 1303, when the city was besieged by the Delhi sultan Ala-ud-Din. The epic poem "Padmavat" describes how the sultan attacks the city, wanting to get the beautiful princess Rani Padmini. However, the latter performs jauhar together with other women. The total number of courtiers who committed self-immolation is sometimes estimated at 700. However, it is difficult to speak with certainty about such long-standing events.
The last famous case of self-immolation in Chittorgarh took place in 1568: then the city was captured by the army of the padishah of the Mughal Empire Akbar the Great and destroyed to the ground. The capital of the Mewar principality was subsequently moved to the city of Udaipur.
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Saipan (Japan)
No war in history has brought as much grief and suffering as World War II. Cases of mass suicide were especially common at the very end of the war on the territory of the Japanese islands. In the summer of 1944, the United States attacked the civilian islands of the Empire of the Rising Sun.
I must say a few words about the mentality of the Japanese, within which surrender to the enemy was considered almost the main shame in life. Wives openly said to their husbands who were going to war: "Better die, but do not surrender to the enemy." By 1944, Japan was still not used to massive surrenders; this will happen later, during the battle for Okinawa in 1945. The propaganda successfully frightened soldiers and civilians with "Yankee atrocities". They, in particular, were told that the Americans would tie their hands to one jeep, and their legs to another, and tear the body in half (and this is far from the worst thing propaganda was talking about). But many soldiers and officers, as we have already said, were ready to die for the God-Emperor, without new parting words.
The United States had superiority in the air and at sea, and the landing force landed on the island of Saipan and successfully advanced inland. The island was defended by 31 thousand Japanese soldiers, of whom 5 thousand committed suicide in order not to be captured. They jumped off the cliff, shouting "Banzai", which is why the latter was named "Banzai Cliff". The civilians did the same: the parents pushed the children down and then jumped themselves. It is believed that 22 thousand ordinary Japanese became victims of mass suicide (in total, there were 50 thousand military and civilians on the island). This figure is called into question, but one thing is certain: thousands of Japanese voluntarily took their own lives. And a similar picture could be observed in different areas of the Pacific theater of operations until the very end of the war.
Demmin (Germany)
The German city of Demmin is located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In the last days of the war, it became the arena of a fierce confrontation between the Wehrmacht and units of the Red Army. On April 30, the Germans were driven out of the city: as they left, they blew up bridges in order to slow down the advance of the Soviet troops. From the north, west and south, the city was surrounded by the rivers Peena and Tollens, so the civilians had nowhere to run.
All this, we recall, took place at the very end of the war, and persistent rumors began to circulate in German society about the atrocities of Soviet soldiers and officers. Some of this was true, some were the fiction of Goebbels' propaganda. In general, frightened civilians began to commit suicide en masse. Everything that was at hand was used: a pistol, a blade, poison, a rope. Many residents were drowned in the Peena and Tollens rivers: bodies were removed from the water over several weeks. At the same time, some potential drowned people were allegedly saved by Soviet soldiers. Women drowned their children and then took their own lives. “I still remember the rivers, red with blood. If my brother hadn't stopped my mother, she would have drowned both of us,”says local resident Barbel Schreiner, who was six at the time.
Those who took their own lives were buried in the local cemetery Bartholom? I. According to various sources, from 900 to 2.5 thousand people became victims of mass suicide. In total, according to researchers, in 1945, before the end of the war, from 10 to 100 thousand Germans voluntarily passed away. A significant part of the suicides occurred in the inhabitants of the German capital.
"Temple of the Nations" (Guyana)
When people talk about cases of mass suicide, it is often the incident in Guyana that is put in the first place. And this is no accident: the sect, founded by the American preacher Jim Jones, killed more than 900 of its followers. Among the victims of the tragedy were over 200 children, as well as Congressman Leo Ryan, who flew into the community to see everything with his own eyes.
The settlement of Johnstown was created in Guyana (northeastern coast of South America). It attracted the attention of human rights defenders long before the tragedy. Formally, everything was fine: the members of the sect worked hard (11 hours a day), gathered together, played and talked. The community even had a nursery and a kindergarten. But gradually, rumors of harsh corporal punishment, drug use, torture, etc. began to reach relatives. Many also said that community members were being held there by force.
The tragedy took place on November 18, 1978. Most people died from cyanide poisoning after receiving orders from their supervisor. Jim Jones himself preferred a pistol to poison. In his dying audio recording, he cited as the reason for "fear of the influence of American power." Congressman Leo Ryan and his people were shot on the runway after he left. Only 80 members of the community managed to escape: some survived because they were not present at the unfortunate meeting.
Movement for the Revival of the Ten Commandments of God (Uganda)
Of all the modern cases of mass suicide, this one is the most frightening. The reason is the huge number of victims. In total, more than 750 people became victims of homicide and suicide. The incident is inextricably linked with the personality of the former prostitute Credonia Mverinda, who at one time stated that she "received an order from the Virgin Mary." The sect was joined by influential people such as the landowner Joseph Kibwetere. This allowed them to quickly gain political support and expand their influence.
The tragedy took place on March 17, 2000. The management announced the next "end of the world" (the previous one, scheduled for January 1, did not come). All the property of the sectarians was sold, and they themselves were forced to pray earnestly until the onset of the apocalypse. The epilogue of the activities of the "saviors" was the death of 500 members of the community: they flew into the air with the church when someone set fire to 100 gallons of gasoline. Witnesses say that the windows of the church were boarded up so that no one got out. Because of this, it is generally difficult to say with certainty whether it is a matter of suicide or murder. Subsequently, mass graves were found on the territory of the sect, fenced off by a fence, where dozens of other bodies were buried. Some were strangled, others were hacked to death with an ax by Mverinda's men.
But Credonia herself managed to escape: some saw her go somewhere in her car. The whereabouts of the sect leader are still unknown. Now experts consider the Movement for the Revival of the Ten Commandments of God as one of the brightest examples of totalitarian sects.