The Erasure of Society in Cambodia

Attempted to create an agrarian “pure” society by eliminating intellectuals, minorities,

and perceived enemies. People were executed for wearing glasses or speaking foreign languages.

About 25% of Cambodia’s population died. Cities were emptied at gunpoint. Families were separated

overnight. Hospitals, schools, money, and religion were

abolished. Survival depended on obedience and silence. The regime dismantled

modern life in the name of ideology. Starvation, forced labor, and fear became

tools of governance. Mass graves later revealed the scale of what had been hidden.

The killing fields remain as evidence of a society erased by power.