Ante “Genocide:” Atrocities Before the Word

By Michael Gerth

Michael Gerth is a 2025 graduate of Albany Law School. Prior to attending Albany Law, Michael earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in music from Elmira College. During undergrad, Michael also became a member of the Alpha Phi Sigma National Honor Society for criminal justice majors.
Upon graduating law school, Michael accepted a position as an associate for Spence Curnalia PLLC in Chenango County and is actively working toward becoming an ADA. In his free time, Michael enjoys reading, gaming, and spending time with his cat named Duck.

Raphael Lemkin first used the term “Genocide” in 1944 to describe the Holocaust. To many, the Holocaust was the first of its kind, a great atrocity worthy of its own word. Since then, the United Nations has defined “Genocide” as a crime against humanity and has worked to define what acts constitute a genocide. This paper examines several pre-Holocaust atrocities and compares each to the United Nations definition of genocide to determine whether, in a modern view, such atrocities constitute forms of genocide.
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To read the paper, open HERE.

Music That Kills: A Nazi Tool in Their Genocidal Agenda

By Nate Altman

Nate Altman is a 2023 Albany Law School graduate, who is sitting for the July Bar Examination. He grew up in Andover, MA, and received a bachelor’s degree from Union College.

Prior to law school, Nate worked in the underwriting and legal departments of Mutual of America Financial Group and lived in Manhattan. As a 3L, Nate served as Treasurer of the Albany Law School Golf Club and was heavily involved in the Albany Law School Rugby Football Club. He previously served on the Moot Court Executive Board as a 2L.

Nate has been a law clerk for the past year at Hinman Straub PC and will continue full-time after taking the bar exam. Previously, he worked at the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office as a law clerk in the Appeals Division. 

In his free time, Nate enjoys skiing, golfing, and cycling.

As a society, we are aware of the atrocities that occurred throughout Europe before and during World War II. The vast amounts of information available to the world documenting the Third Reich and its systematic oppression and extermination of the Jewish people and others is no secret. There were concentration camps, gas chambers, ghettos, wooden bunks stuffed with emaciated, dying people, mass graves, and firing squads.

Less commonly known, however, is the important role that music played in the Nazi facilitation and operation of prison camps. Music was used to physically break down, punish, dupe, humiliate, and murder prisoners. At the same time, the Nazis used music for their so-called entertainment. Prisoner-built orchestras, singing marches, and music "shows" occurred throughout the many concentration camps.

It was by design that music was a helpful tool in the decimation of Jews and others. This paper serves to enlighten the public on the Nazi's use of music during the Holocaust, adding music to the list of countless war crimes committed against prisoners and to the genocide committed against the Jewish people.

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To read the paper, open HERE.

Russia’s War Against Ukraine

Lessons from Yugoslavia and Rwanda Support Claims of Genocide

By Philip Amur

Philip Amur is a May 2023 graduate of Albany Law School. He grew up in Walnut Creek, CA, and received his undergraduate degree from Willamette University, where he majored in Economics and Spanish.

At Albany Law School, Philip was involved with the Government Law Center Fellowship Program, the Student Bar Association, research assistance, and moot court competitions. During his time as a student, he interned with the Third Judicial District of the New York State Unified Court System, the Goldwater Institute, the Office of the New York State Comptroller, and the Claims Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office.

This September, Philip will be working as an Assistant District Attorney with the Queens County District Attorney’s Office. 

In February of 2022, Russia launched its long-anticipated invasion of Ukraine. The Russian Federation has labeled the invasion a “special military operation” intended merely to save pro-Russian Ukrainians from the alleged nationalistic tendencies of Kyiv’s current government.

However, according to world leaders other commentators, the actions of the Russian government and is military commanders sound in war crimes. Some have gone so far as to classify the acts carried out in Ukraine as genocidal.

This paper examines the legal origins of the term “genocide,” how the term has been interpreted by various ad-hoc tribunals, and whether those prior interpretations provide an adequate basis to charge President Putin with this crime.

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To read the paper, open HERE.

The Holodomor (Ukrainian Genocide)

As defined by post-WWII international standards

By Harris D. Bresowsky

Harris D. Bresowsky is a third-year student at Albany Law School. He grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and he graduated from the University at Buffalo where he studied Political Science and Public Policy.

During his time in law school, Harris has been the Co-Chair of Albany Law School's chapter of the American Constitution Society and a Government Law Center Fellow. Additionally, he interned with a New York Supreme Court Judge in Nassau County, the Joint Commission of Public Ethics, and SUNY's Office of General Counsel.

Harris is passionate about international law and specifically about human rights research. Following his graduation, Harris plans on working in New York City. Harris's passions outside of law include hiking, reading, and playing golf. 

The Ukrainian flag is composed of two colors – blue and yellow. The two colors are laid out as almost a portrait of its natural landscape. The blue represents the clear sky above and the yellow represents the wheat fields that produce grain to feed much of the world. These fertile lands are attractive to any country – Russia included.

In 2022, Russia is once again on the offensive against Ukraine. The motivating factor seems to be its desire to keep Ukraine in its sphere of influence. History often repeats itself and Russia (in its many forms) has been a historical colonizing empire in Eastern Europe. As a colonizing state, it has repeatedly engaged in activities to suppress its neighbors’ desires to determine their futures based on their own free wills.

These repressions often resulted in large-scale atrocities such as Holodomor. These tragedies often went unnoticed. But it is important to shine a light on every event of human suffering and recognize Holodomor for what it truly was – a genocide, as defined by contemporary international law.

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To read the full paper, click HERE.