Pol Pot

Lore & Background

Born to a farmer in Prek Sbauv, French Cambodia, Pol Pot was educated at some of Cambodia's most elite schools. Arriving in Paris in October 1949 on an academic scholarship, he later joined the French Communist Party in 1951 while studying at the École française de radioélectricité. Returning to Cambodia in 1953, he involved himself in the Khmer Viet Minh organisation and its guerrilla war against King Norodom Sihanouk's newly independent government. Following the Khmer Viet Minh's 1954 retreat into North Vietnam, Pol Pot returned to Phnom Penh, working as a teacher while remaining a central member of Cambodia's Marxist–Leninist movement. In 1959, he helped formalise the movement into the Kampuchean Labour Party, which was later renamed the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK). To avoid state repression, in 1962 he relocated to a jungle encampment and in 1963 he became the CPK's leader. In 1968, he relaunched the war against Sihanouk's government. After Lon Nol ousted Sihanouk in a 1970 coup, Pol Pot's forces sided with the deposed leader against the new government, which was bolstered by the United States military. Aided by the Viet Cong militia and North Vietnamese troops, Khmer Rouge forces advanced and controlled all of Cambodia by 1975. Pol Pot transformed Cambodia into a one-party state that he called Democratic Kampuchea, seeking to create an agrarian socialist society that he believed would evolve into a communist one. Year Zero was an idea put into practice by Pol Pot where he believed that all cultures and traditions must be completely destroyed and a new revolutionary culture must replace it starting from scratch. 'Year Zero' was announced by the Khmer Rouge on April 17, 1975, where everything before that date must be purged. The Khmer Rouge emptied the cities, frogmarched Cambodians to labor camps and relocated the urban population to collective farms, where mass executions, abuse, torture, malnutrition and disease were rampant. In the Killing Fields, more than 1.3 million people were executed and buried in mass graves. Pursuing complete egalitarianism, money, religion, and private property were abolished and all citizens were forced to wear the same black clothing. Repeated purges of the CPK generated growing discontent; by 1978, Cambodian soldiers were mounting a rebellion in the east. After several years of Khmer Rouge incursions and massacres o

Reader's Guide

Pol Pot’s rule was defined by the radical implementation of an agrarian socialist vision, which he believed would eventually lead to communism. He enforced the concept of “Year Zero,” beginning on April 17, 1975, which demanded the complete destruction of all existing culture and traditions to be replaced by a new revolutionary society. Under his direction, the Khmer Rouge forcibly emptied cities, marched the urban population to labor camps, and relocated citizens to collective farms. In these settings, mass executions, abuse, torture, malnutrition, and disease became widespread, with over 1.3 million people killed and buried in mass graves in what became known as the Killing Fields. To achieve total egalitarianism, the regime abolished money, religion, and private property, and forced everyone to wear identical black clothing. Repeated internal purges of the Communist Party of Kampuchea caused growing discontent, and by 1978, Cambodian soldiers in the east were rebelling. Pol Pot’s movement was divisive within the international communist sphere; many accused him of straying from orthodox Marxism–Leninism. However, China and later the United States supported his regime as a counterweight to Soviet influence in Southeast Asia during the Sino-Soviet split. He is widely regarded as a totalitarian dictator guilty of crimes against humanity, and his role in the Cambodian genocide—which killed an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people, about a quarter of the country’s pre-genocide population—has led to his international condemnation as one of the most brutal despots in modern history.

Did You Know?

• Pol Pot was born Saloth Sâr in the village of Prek Sbauv, outside Kampong Thom.
• His father Loth owned 9 hectares of rice land and several draft cattle.
• Pol Pot studied carpentry at the Ecole Technique in Phnom Penh before going to France.
• He joined the French Communist Party in 1951 while studying in Paris.

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