Pol Pot

Lore & Background

Pol Pot was born in the village of Prek Sbauv, outside Kampong Thom, to a prosperous farmer. He was educated at elite Cambodian schools and in 1949 traveled to Paris on a scholarship, where he joined the French Communist Party in 1951. Returning to Cambodia in 1953, he joined the Khmer Viet Minh and later helped formalize the Marxist–Leninist movement into the Kampuchean Labour Party, which became the Communist Party of Kampuchea. He became the CPK's leader in 1963 and relaunched the war against King Norodom Sihanouk's government in 1968. After Lon Nol's 1970 coup, Pol Pot's forces sided with Sihanouk and, aided by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops, controlled all of Cambodia by 1975.

Reader's Guide

Pol Pot's significance lies in his role as the leader of the Khmer Rouge, which implemented a radical agrarian socialist transformation of Cambodia, known as Democratic Kampuchea. The regime declared 'Year Zero' on April 17, 1975, purging all prior culture and traditions. It emptied cities, forced the population into labor camps, and carried out mass executions, torture, and neglect, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 1.5–2 million people—about one-quarter of the country's pre-genocide population. Money, religion, and private property were abolished. The regime's brutality led to internal purges and a rebellion by 1978. Vietnam invaded in December 1978, toppling Pol Pot by January 1979. He retreated to jungles near the Thai border and died under house arrest in 1998. His legacy is that of a totalitarian dictator guilty of crimes against humanity, widely denounced internationally.

Did You Know?

• Pol Pot was born with the name Saloth Sâr, meaning 'white' or 'pale', referencing his light skin.
• He studied carpentry at the Ecole Technique in Phnom Penh after failing entry exams for higher academic study.
• The Khmer Rouge declared 'Year Zero' on April 17, 1975, aiming to destroy all prior culture and start anew.
• Pol Pot's cousin Meak was a consort of King Sisowath Monivong and worked as a ballet teacher.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Our policy was to provide an affluent life for the people. There were mistakes made in carrying it out. Several thousand people may have died." — Pol Pot "First, I would like to tell you that I came to carry out the struggle, not to kill people. Even now, and you can look at me, am I savage person? My conscience is clear." — Pol Pot "When I die, my only wish is that Cambodia remain Cambodia and belong to the West. It is over for communism, and I want to stress that." — Pol Pot "We did not yet have laws or order. We were like children just learning to walk." — Pol Pot