CivAtlasHistory reader

April 1975–January 1979 CE / South & Southeast Asia

Khmer Rouge Rule and Cambodia's Social Catastrophe

The Khmer Rouge transformed society through forced migration, labor, and political persecution, with hunger, disease, and executions causing catastrophe; conflict continued after it lost Phnom Penh in 1979.

Read on the map and timeline
Era
Modern World
Region
South & Southeast Asia
Theme
Politics
An imagined early twenty-first-century city: a tram passes a plaza where people walk, cycle and gather by trees and streetside shops.
An AI-generated imagined historical panorama suggests everyday life. It is not evidence for reconstructing a specific event or archaeological site.

The story

On April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh and forced its residents to leave. During its subsequent rule, it imposed forced labor, strict control, and mass persecution. People died from executions, starvation, disease, and harsh labor conditions; ethnic Vietnamese and Cham communities were subjected to targeted genocidal campaigns. In January 1979, Vietnamese troops and Cambodian anti-Khmer Rouge forces entered Phnom Penh, and the central Khmer Rouge regime collapsed, but its remnants remained active, and the war did not end that day. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia later tried related crimes. The map marks the area near the former S-21 prison in Phnom Penh as a representative site of remembrance for victims.

Elsewhere in the world

Wars in Southeast Asia and the Cold War context help explain the regime's rise, but persecution and forced labor policies must still be recorded in their own right; victims' experiences cannot be explained solely through international competition.

Dates and precision

April 1975–January 1979 CE Ongoing process

The dates describe a process over time; the interactive timeline uses its starting point.

Representative map location

Representative coordinates · 11.549°, 104.917°

Coordinates locate a representative point for the story. They do not mean the event happened only here and do not represent historical borders.

Bibliography

  • Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, ECCC | Historical Background of the Democratic Kampuchea Regime
  • Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, ECCC | Scope of the Trials and Guide to the Court

Sources are listed as bibliography titles, without external links. A reference does not mean every sentence or interpretation has been independently verified.

Continue reading

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Read this era · Modern WorldRead this region · South & Southeast Asia

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