We like to think that this type of thing can't happen in our society, that cannibalism is something that uncivilized tribes and macabre serial killers partake in. But history has proven again and again that when humans are starving and survival instincts kick in, people will do and eat anything.
In 1921-1922 there was a great famine in Russia. It began in 1917, at the end of WW1. A Russian civil war started between the Bolshevik Red Army and the White Army. The country was in a state of turmoil; there was no food at all, 25 million people were starving to death.
It's said that they began by eating their pets; when they were hungry enough, they turned on their own families. Mothers ate their own babies; children left alone for a second on the street were kidnapped, slaughtered, and eaten.
Its said that the starvation was so terrible that these people told themselves they had done a good thing- the Christian thing. They'd put an end to their victim's suffering. Humans are good at justifying their behavior, it was okay to eat the dead because they knew and cared for them. There was no food, no meat to be found, yet somehow there was still meat being sold at the market. It was human, and people were happy to have it.
Its said that the starvation was so terrible that these people told themselves they had done a good thing- the Christian thing. They'd put an end to their victim's suffering. Humans are good at justifying their behavior, it was okay to eat the dead because they knew and cared for them. There was no food, no meat to be found, yet somehow there was still meat being sold at the market. It was human, and people were happy to have it.
The government knew about what was going on, but it doesn't look like they did much to stop it. Cannibalism was seen as a way to survive. They did guard the cemeteries to ensure the dead weren't dug up and eaten.
Other countries heard of the atrocities going on in Russia and they banded together to send relief. But it wasn't fast enough- it's estimated that up to 10 millions of people starved to death. Russia still seems to have a cannibalism problem today- in 1997 alone there were 30 reported murders involving cannibalism.
1958-1961 China, there was a great famine due to a drought and the Great Leap Forward, then from 1966-1976 there was China's Cultural Revolution. Between 15 and 45 million people died; because of all the secrecy surrounding this, the true numbers are not known. Starvation was prohibited from being listed on a death certificate. Without getting too political, the country's leader, Mao Zedong, decided he wanted to catch up to the western world.
He was determined that China would be able to compete with industrialized nations, and he wanted the change to happen very quickly- within just a 5 year span. He didn't give a damn what happened to his people in the meanwhile. He stole food from the public, and just let his people starve while his own large family, including 10 children, lived very well.
He was determined that China would be able to compete with industrialized nations, and he wanted the change to happen very quickly- within just a 5 year span. He didn't give a damn what happened to his people in the meanwhile. He stole food from the public, and just let his people starve while his own large family, including 10 children, lived very well.
Cannibalism was rampant. Parents preferred not to kill and eat their own, so the practice of "swapping children to eat" became a thing. Just terrible. There are stories of horrific violence, “There were beheadings, beatings, live burials, stonings, drownings, boilings, group slaughters, disembowellings, digging out hearts, livers, genitals, slicing off flesh, blowing up with dynamite, and more, with no method unused.”
Though the violence seems to have been more about political revenge than starvation, China doesn't like to admit that cannibalism happened. But it did. There's one report of a teacher named Wu Shufang who in 1968 was beaten to death by his middle school pupils. The kids forced another teacher to rip out their victim's heart and liver, then they had a barbeque with his flesh.
In the past couple years, a new form of cannibalism coming from China has come to light. This is aborting unborn children for consumption, which is believed to be a miracle cure all, its also said to boost stamina and sexual health. The fetuses are often ground up into pills. It sounds like an urban legend, but it's true. Thousands of these capsules have been intercepted in the mail.
In the 1980's, North Korea experienced a terrible famine due to terrible weather, and the fact that Russia demanded immediate payment for past aid. In '91, the country's economy failed. From 1994-1998 up to 3.5 millions people died, women and children had it the worst.
Cannibalism was rampant, children were told to be careful, not to go outside alone. Again, there are reports of parents eating their young. There are reports of grave robberies, the dead being dug up for their flesh. The most recent reports cannibalism in this country are from 2013!
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