Civil War and Genocide in Guatemala.

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The Civil War in Guatemala that lasted 36 years. It lead to the genocide of over 700,000 Mayans. The cause of this civil war to happen was when the left-wing guerilla groups started battling government military forces. Then a new president was elected who only intensified the war. Which led to the genocide of all native Mayans who lived in Guatemala. This period of massacre is also known as the Silent Holocaust. A new president was then elected and a new constitution was written in where civil rights were restricted. This added more gas to the flames, and he later was forced to resign. A new president was then chosen and finally put an end to the civil war in December of 1996.

This war is historically significant because once upon a time, way back in the day, the Mayans were fighting with the Spanish over their land. Not to say that history repeats itself, but I find it ironic that the Mayans were annihilated because of where they were living. This is also significant because when this war started is right around the time that World War Two ended. So although the whole world seen how the genocide of the Jews was tragic, this country decided to go to war against itself and massacre its own people.

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