Films >> Killing Fields, The (1984) >> FilmographySynopsisSourceScene LogKey PassagesReviewsHistoric ContextFilmic ContextScene AnalysisIssue EssayComparison FilmsSound BitesImage GalleryWorks Cited

See the extensive bibliography (divided into print, video/audio, and online resources) below the essay.

The Killing Fields

[1] The historical facts behind The Killing Fields, a film first and foremost about the relationship between the journalists Dith Pran and Sydney Shanberg, can best be relayed by exploring the circumstances under which Pran and Schanberg met, namely, the Cambodian War.

[2] The roots of the Cambodian Revolution date back to 1840, when France first expressed interest in colonizing Cambodia, a goal eventually realized in 1884. France's placement of the young Prince Norodom Sihanouk on the Cambodian throne in 1941 (a man they believed would not pose a threat to their political power, but who eventually gained independence from France in 1953) played a key role in the development of the Cambodian Revolution. Sihanouk's commitment to remaining neutral in regard to the Vietnam War, combined (oddly enough, considering his neutrality) with his tendency to fluctuate between left and right political positions and actions, essentially split Cambodia, and fostered the Khmer Rouge's ability to obtain dedicated communist followers.

[3] In 1970, while Sihanouk vacationed in France, Lon Nol (Sihanouk's Prime Minister) launched an anti-Communist and anti-Vietnamese campaign to counter Sihanouk's inconsistencies. On March 18th, Nol staged a coup d'tat, thereby gaining recognition from America and the global community as Cambodia's new leader. Lon Nol's first goal while in rule was to rid his nation of the Vietnamese sanctuaries that Sihanouk, for monetary reasons, allowed to exist. President Nixon and Prime Minister Kissenger embraced this objective and, without Nol's consent, planned a 60-day invasion of Cambodia to begin on April 30, 1970.

[4] Sixty days later, as promised, the incursion ceased. There were differing perspectives on the effectiveness of this military operation. Nixon claimed the invasion was highly successful, resulting in the acquisition of ammunition, rice, and arms, and the deaths of 11,000 enemy Vietnamese. Others, however, asserted that this bombing radicalized the Cambodian people and drew them into the full-scale war they had wished to avoid.

[5] Schanberg and Pran met as two journalists covering this Cambodian struggle. In June 1970, during the American invasion of Cambodia, Pran's village was invaded by the Viet Cong, leaving him without a job. Pran found employment as a translator and guide for journalists and worked for a variety of newspapers until he met Schanberg in 1972. Schanberg, a New York Times journalist originally stationed in New Delhi to cover the Indo-Pakistan war, chose to re-locate to Cambodia and report on, what he thought, a country being used. Pran began to aid Schanberg and eventually, with Schanberg's influence, he was hired by the New York Times full-time.

[6] Pran and Schanberg reported together for over three years. They covered (and uncovered) such stories as the accidental bombing of Neak Luong in August 1973, the American evacuation of Cambodia on April 12, 1975, and the fall of Phnom Penh (and Lon Nol) five days later.

[7] Their friendship was a strong one and extended beyond their professional relationship. Pran, through his quick thinking and excellent negotiating skills, was once able to save the lives of Schanberg and other journalists from the Khmer Rouge, a radical communist group led by Pol Pot. Schanberg attempted to return the favor by smuggling Pran out of the now dangerous Cambodia, but ultimately failed. On April 20, 1975, Pran was forced into Cambodia's perilous interior, where he would be subjected to the atrocities of life under the Khmer Rouge.

[8] Pran spent four years in what the Khmer Rouge termed as Democratic Kampuchea. He and millions of other Cambodians suffered terrible conditions, including long and hard hours of physical labor, hunger, malnutrition, and constant surveillance under the murderous Khmer Rouge. The Cambodians had to attend re-education classes in which the Khmer Rouge imposed their purpose and ideals on their people. Pran and the other Cambodians were told that the party called Angka would now provide all their needs. They were also taught that this was Year Zero, and all pre-Revolutionary Cambodian history was to be erased, a lesson that resulted in the elimination of many intellectuals who could possibly thwart this objective with their pre-Revolutionary knowledge. Under Khmer Rouge rule, it is estimated that anywhere from one to three million Cambodians perished. Across the country, there exist many mass graves, or killing fields, laden with the bones of thousands of Cambodians who died during this time.

[9] Pran thought often of escape but cautiously waited until after the Vietnamese liberation (and fall of the Khmer Rouge) on January 7, 1979, to make his move toward the Thai border. Various obstacles prevented Pran from reaching safety until October 3 of that same year. Schanberg, guilt-stricken in New York, had sent hundreds of letters and photographs to locate his missing friend. On October 4th, his hopes and prayers were answered as he received news of Pran's survival and safety. Five days later, the two friends reunited.

[10] Schanberg continues to write for The New York Times. Pran travels across America, informing people of the Cambodian Holocaust and has returned to Cambodia three times to assist his people.

[11] Cambodia still struggles today. Its people suffer poverty, loss, and disillusionment as they try to make sense of the atrocity so recent in their memory.

Print Resources

Bernstein, Adam. "Dith Pran; Activist Brought Attention to Cambodian Genocide." Washington Post 31 Mar. 2008: B06.

Notice of Pran's death.

Burgler, R.A. The Eyes of the Pineapple: Revolutionary Intellectuals and Terror in Democratic Kampuchea. Saarbrucken: Verlag Breitenbach, 1990.

Burgler takes an in-depth look at the Khmer Rouge, its beliefs, its practices, and its failures in this important book. Eleven chapters ("Analyzing Khmers Rouges’ Terror"; "The Origin of the Khmers Rouges"; "The War, 1970-1975"; "Ideals and Ideology; Practice, 1975-1977"; "Internal and External Conflicts, 1975-1977"; "The Spiral of Violence, 1977-1979"; "Dead Souls"; "Peasants, Intellectuals, and Revolution"; "The System of Terror and the State"; and "China, Vietnam, Democratic Kampuchea") expose and elucidate the inner workings of this intricate group. Burgler especially wants to clarify that these activists were not human terrors, planning to murder recklessly. Instead, they were simply communist idealists, albeit extreme, who planned to create the perfect Utopian society. Their goal, according to Burgler, was a “classless, contradiction-free, modern utopia.” Unfortunately, the Khmer Rouge thought the erasure of past society, through a mass murder focused on intellectuals, was the most effective way to achieve this almost admirable goal. Burgler’s account thoroughly covers every aspect of the sad and disturbing history of the Khmer Rouge.

Chandler, David P. Brother Number One: A Political Biography of Pol Pot. Rev. ed. Boulder: Westview P, 1999.

A thorough analysis of the Cambodian Communist, Pol Pot, this book accurately depicts the complicated life of this loved and loathed leader in nine well-thought chapters. Chandler’s main purpose is to understand Pol Pot. Who was this man? Where did he come from? And, most importantly, why did he and his followers, members of the Khmer Rouge, decide to govern Cambodia and systematically erase all aspects of Cambodian history, resulting in the deaths of nearly 40% of his own people? As Chandler says, “What did Pol Pot and his colleagues have in mind? (3)” In the chapters “Original Khmer, 1928-1949"; "Becoming a Communist, 1949-1953"; "Multiple Identities, 1953-1963"; “Red Khmer, 1963-1970"; "Coming to Power, 1970-1976"; "Prairie Fire, 1976-1977"; "Coming Apart, 1977-1979"; and “Grandfather 87, 1979-1998" Chandler attempts to answer these questions in an interesting and informative way. Chandler tries to break away from condemning Pol Pot as a “monster” for the atrocities that occurred under his leadership and, instead, focus on the paradox of his personality. The inner workings of this docile man are successfully uncovered in this intelligent book, where Chandler reveals how an admirable utopian vision, combined with paranoia and strong convictions, can and did lead to devastation.

Chandler, David P. The Tragedy of Cambodian History: Politics, War and Revolution since 1945. New Haven: Yale UP, 1991.

To fully understand how the Cambodian Revolution arose, Chandler realized that one must research Cambodian history long before the Khmer Rouge took control. As former foreign service officer in Phnom Penh, Chandler was in the position to accept the above challenge and write this harrowing account of Cambodian history. His eight chapters, "In Search of Independence, 1945-1950"; "Political Warfare, 1950-1955"; "Sihanouk Unopposed, 1955-1962"; "Cambodia Clouds Over, 1963-1966"; "Changing the Rules, 1967-1969"; "Sliding toward Chaos, 1970-1975"; "Revolution in Cambodia, 1975-1979"; and "Inside the Typhoon: Testimonies" reveal that the Cambodian tragedy was thirty years in the making. The reader learns how such factors as the strength of Cambodia’s rulers, the war in Vietnam, Cambodia’s strong religious history, and even the effects of President Kennedy’s assassination all influenced the Cambodian Revolution. A comprehensive work, this book effectively relays a complex political history in an eloquent and readable manner.

Chandler, David P., and Ben Kiernan, eds. Revolution and its Aftermath in Kampuchea: Eight Essays. New Haven: Yale U Southeast Asia Studies, 1983.

Chandler and Kiernan, two scholars interested in the tumultuous history of Cambodia before, during, and after the Khmer Rouge rule, have gathered eight essays from many different disciplines that each cover some aspect of the Cambodian revolution. The essays include: "The Cambodian Idea of Revolution," by Serge Thion; "Seeing Red: Perceptions of Cambodian History in Democratic Kampuchea," by David Chandler; "Vietnamese Communist Policy Towards Kampuchea: 1930-1970," by Gareth Porter; "Democratic Kampuchea: Themes and Variations,"by Michael Vickery; "Wild Chickens, Farm Chickens and Cormorants: Kampuchea’s Easter Zone Under Pol Pot," by Ben Kiernan;" Democratic Kampuchea: A Highly Centralized Dictatorship," by Anthony Barnett; "Cambodia: Some Perceptions of a Disaster," by William Shawcross; "Observations of the Heng Samrin Government, 1980-1982," by Chanthou Boua; and "Chronology of Khmer Communism," by Serge Thion. Each essay is a scholarly account of the political, psychological, or historical aspects of Cambodia, its “Red” leaders, and the revolution in general.

Him, Chanrithy. When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up under the Khmer Rouge: A Memoir. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000.

In her Acknowledgements, Him expresses her (now-fulfilled) desire “for the world to learn the bitter chill of her grief, and of the tragic death of her family.” Through her work in conducting a study on post-traumatic stress disorder in Cambodian refugees like herself, through many all-too-familiar stories of graphic killings, hunger, and separation from parents and siblings, she continually came face-to-face with her own story. Chapter titles like “There Are No Good-byes,” “Worse Than Pigs,” and “The New Camp” hardly indicate the horrors Him experiences as we journey with her from three years old (pre-war era) to sixteen (awaiting a flight that will take her to America). Him’s heartbreaking memoir provides an insider’s account of the experience of Cambodian children under the Khmer Rouge, and celebrates her own survival. (ALB)

Kiernan, Ben, ed. Genocide and Democracy in Cambodia: The Khmer Rouge, the United Nations and the International Community. New Haven: Yale U Southeast Asia Studies, 1993.

This book covers the Cambodian revolution from a political perspective. Seven essays, written by different scholars, are included and separated into chapters. These essays are titled as follows: "Revolution and Rural Response in Cambodia, 1970-1975," by Kate Frieson; "A Cambodian Village under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-1979," by May Ebihara; "After the Nightmare: The Population of Cambodia," by Judith Banister and E. Paige Johnson; "The Khmer Rouge Genocide and International Law," by Gregory H. Stanton; "Genocide as a Political Commodity," by Serge Thion; "The Inclusion of the Khmer Rouge in the Cambodian Peace Process: Causes and Consequences," by Ben Kiernan; and "Development Aid and Democracy in Cambodia," by Chanthou Boua. Three appendices ("The United Nations and Cambodia," by Hedi Annabi; "The Cambodian Factions in the Democratic Process," by Khieu Kanharith; and "Cambodia’s Legal Tradition and the Democratic Process," by Douc Rasy) follow. Such issues as the role of America and the United Nations in Cambodia’s struggle, international law on genocide, the political structure of Cambodia and its effect on their revolution, and other political and foreign relations topics are discussed.

Lafreniere, Bree. Music through the Dark: A Tale of Survival in Cambodia. Honolulu: U of Hawaii P, 2000.

A collaborative effort between Lafreniere and Daran Kravanh, this is the true-life account of Kravanh’s experiences in Cambodia. As the title suggests, music (the accordion in particular), played a large role in Kravanh’s ability to survive the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror and in turn becomes a focus of his story. The text gets its richness not only from the poignancy of Kravanh’s detailed memories but also from additional research on the topic by Lafreneire, as well as information gathered during a return trip to Cambodia by Lafreneire and Kravanh. In her Prelude, Lafreneire alludes to a different side of the Khmer Rouge that becomes visible from Kravanh’s tale. She writes, “Daran’s story revealed [the Khmer Rouge’s] humanity. I began to have a deeper understanding of not only the Cambodian soul, but the search for meaning inherent in the human condition.” Thus, one can see that this book goes beyond the typical survivor story to encompass a much greater scope, making it possible for the reader to gain a thorough understanding of what it was like to live under the Khmer Rouge regime and, ultimately, make it out alive. (LET)

Lay, Sody. "The Cambodian Tragedy: Its Writers and Representations." Amerasia Journal 27.2 (2001): 171-82.

Lay reviews three books based on the horrifying rise and rule of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in the early to mid 1970s: Music through the Dark: a Tale of Survival in Cambodia, by Bree Lefreiere (and narrated by Daran Kravanh); When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up under the Khmer Rouge, by Chanrithy Him; and First They Killed my Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, by Loung Ung. Lay describes the interest that was taken within the Cambodia community about the plight of their people following the release of the critically acclaimed film The Killing Fields. Lay, now a director of the Khmer Institute and a university lecturer on the Cambodian American experience, became interested in the subject after reading Dr. Haing Ngor’s (Academy Award winning actor who portrayed Dith Pran in The Killing Fields) narrated and co-authored book. Lay makes the point that many younger generations obtain most of their knowledge and understanding of the Cambodian experience under the Khmer Rouge through books and film. In reviewing the titles listed above, Lay finds two of the three to paint an accurate painting of the history and personal experience while the other falls far short on both counts. Lay finds Ung’s narrative to be poorly subtitled ‘A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers’ due to the fact that, in the first place, Ung was only a child at the time and, in the second place, the book has received the most publicity despite being a “sensationalization and over-dramatization of the Killing Fields experience." Lay further praises Him and Lefreiere/Kravanh for their efforts to bring stories with “subtleties that characterize real life experiences and give color to the darkness of the Killing Fields.” (JAC)

Martin, Douglas. "Dith Pran, Photojournalist and Survivor of the Killing Fields, Dies at 65." New York Times 31 Mar. 2008.

Notice of Pran's death.

Pran, Dith, comp., and Kim DePaul, ed. Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields: Memoirs by Survivors. New Haven: Yale UP, 1997.

These twenty-nine moving accounts of life under the Khmer Rouge uncover a personal aspect of the Cambodian Revolution. Each memoir is written by a survivor of this “holocaust.” These accounts simultaneously reveal the many hardships the Cambodians faced under Khmer control and attest to the resilience and strength one gains from such extreme experiences. Each chapter begins with a picture and some biographical information about the “author.” Such titles of these memoirs as "Songs My Enemies Taught Me," "The End of Childhood" [Stephanie McElroy], "A Letter to My Mother," "Worms from Our Skin," "One Spoon of Rice," "Imprinting Compassion" [Amy Burchard], "Memoir of a Child’s Nightmare," "New Year’s Surprise," "The Dark Years of My Life," "Jail Without Walls," "Witnessing the Horror," "The Unfortunate Cambodia," "Living in Darkness," "Motherland" [Catherine Breckenridge], "A Four-Year-Old’s View of the Khmer Rouge," "The Tragedy of My Homeland," "Hurt, Pain, and Suffering," "The Darkness of My Experience," and "The Tonle Sap Lake Massacre" [John Culhane] reveal the divergent themes and viewpoints of the Cambodian people. Written from varying age groups and perspectives, these memoirs collectively cover almost every aspect of living and learning in Revolutionary Cambodia.

Schanberg, Sydney. "The Death and Life of Dith Pran: A Story of Cambodia." New York Times Magazine 20 Jan. 1980: 16-65.

This is the long article on which the film was based. Schanberg and Pran’s relationship, along with factual historical information about the 1970 Cambodia revolution, is relayed through this well-written and moving account. Schanberg, a reporter for the New York Times, speaks of how he and Pran met in Cambodia as two journalists covering the Cambodian struggle. Pran was Schanberg’s interpreter, guide, and eventual friend. Schanberg reveals how Pran’s connections and bribery allowed them to cover events that other journalists could not access, specifically the accidental bombing of Neak Luong for which they were the first reporters on site. Pran, through his excellent negotiating skills, was also able to save the lives of Schanberg and other reporters when the Khmer Rouge stormed the city of Phnom Penh. Deciding to remain in Cambodia after the United States evacuation, Pran was vaguely aware of the danger the Khmer Rouge presented to him. When Pran was taken by the Khmer Rouge on April 17, 1975, Schanberg reveals his guilt of not being able to save the man who had earlier saved him. The article then covers Schanberg’s guilt-ridden life in New York and Pran’s unbearable life in Cambodia. Eventually, the two friends are reunited, as Pran managed to escape the brutality of the Khmer Rouge. Schanberg elegantly articulates the emotional separation and reunion of he and his good friend, Pran. We learn that the two men continue to report together for the New York Times today (1980).

Schanberg, Sydney. The Killing Fields: The Facts behind the Film. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Limited, 1984.

As the title indicates, this book provides the factual information behind each scene of the movie. It is broken into three sections: Part One: Background: The Story of Cambodia; Part Two: Fact and Film: Eleven Scenes; and Part Three: The Aftermath. Part One relays basic Cambodian history from the second century to present day (1984). In Part Two, the historical evidence behind the eleven main scenes of The Killing Fields ("Accidental Bombing," "Strangulation of a City," "Operation Eagle Pull," "Liberation," "Preah Keth Mealea Hospital," "Arrest," "Evacuation Begins," "French Embassy," "Sydney Schanberg, Dith Pran, and Reunion") is reported by both Schanberg and Pran. Schanberg’s New York Times’ articles written during the actual events listed above are included in this section as another source of factual information. Lastly, accounts of Director Roland Joffe, Producer David Putnam, Associate Producer Iain Smith, and Screenwriter Bruce Robinson on the film in general and each scene in particular was recorded in this section as a third perspective on the creation of this film. In the final section of this book, Part Three, Bruce Palling writes about the continuing struggle in Cambodia. From hunger and poverty to disillusionment and lack of a government, Cambodia still has many important problems as a result of the Khmer Rouge rule that need to be addressed.

See Also

Ho, Tienfong. "The First Killing Fields Memorial: Mythmaking as Memorial Project." (Im)permanence: Cultures in/out of Time. Pittsburgh: Center for the Arts in Society, 2008. 109-19.

"Schanberg, Sydney [Hillel]." Current Biography 51.8 (1990): 57-61.

Schlund-Vials, Cathy J. "A Transnational Hip Hop Nation: Prach, Cambodia, and Memorialising the Killing Fields." Life Writing 5.1 (2008): 11-27.

Video/Audio Resources

Cambodia on Our Conscience. Videocassette. Recorded from a broadcast December 11, 1979, by WFAA-TV, Dallas Texas. University of Georgia, 1979.

(Unseen; information from WorldCat.)

Cambodia: A Nation Is Dying. Videocassette. Recorded from a broadcast of the program "World," November 6, 1979, by PBS. University of Georgia, 1979.

(Unseen; information from WorldCat.)

Cambodian Tragedy: Meanings for America. Dir. Joseph Short. Videocassette. City Club of Cleveland, 1979.

(Unseen; information from WorldCat.)

Dith Pran: "The Killing Fields." Videocassette. South Puget Sound Community College, 1991.

Dith Pran presents a lecture on the real-life sources for the motion picture, The Killing Fields. (Unseen; information from WorldCat.)

From the Killing Fields. Rep. Peter Jennings/ABC News. Videocassette. MPI Home Video, 1990.

Peter Jennings investigates the current (1990) situation in Cambodia. Over two hours in length, this journalistic video poses the question: “Is America still fighting the Vietnam War? President Norodom Sihanouk is interviewed and reveals that his strong anti-Vietnam stance has warranted aid from the American government. To Jennings, and the viewer, the disturbing aspect of this American support is that Sihanouk’s partners are the “murderous Khmer Rouge.” In effect, America, to continue fighting the Vietnam War fifteen years after-the-fact, is aiding the very people who committed the most unthinkable acts of self-genocide. With images of the Vietnam War, the peaceful present society of Cambodia, and the militant Khmer Rouge, the viewer is confronted with Cambodia’s fragile state. Many people, both scholars and peasant Cambodians, fear the return of the Khmer Rouge. This account reports that such fears are not unfounded and, if fulfilled, the American government would, once again, be indirectly responsible for the deaths of many innocent Cambodians.

Goodbye Cambodia. Dir./Prod./Edit. Kris Paterson. Photo. Peter Ducane. Filmstrip. Work House Productions, 1974.

A short look at the war in Cambodia. (Unseen; information from WorldCat.)

Powers of the President: Foreign Policy â€" Nixon and Ford. Dir. Jeremy Cooper. Videocassette. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 1996.

An essential piece for anyone studying the politics behind American involvement in Vietnam and Cambodia, this film questions the president’s almost exclusive power to declare war. The viewer is informed of Congress’s 1973 War Powers Resolution, an act proposed to control presidential power in foreign relations and its rejection by both Nixon and Ford. Clips of interviews with these former presidents reveal their conviction that American presidents need a great deal of freedom in their dealings with foreign affairs. Nixon and Ford’s creation of “official history” concerning the effectiveness of their foreign military operations, leaves the viewer with a sense of skepticism about the accurate recounting of that history and the appropriate application of the president’s great foreign power. [Unseen, information from Journal of American History, 84.3 (1997)]

Samsara: A Film about Survival and Recovery in Cambodia. Dir./Writ./Ed. Ellen Bruno. Videocassette. Samsura Film Library, 1989.

Ellen Bruno reports the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge’s unspeakable actions on the Cambodian people. Their struggle is multi-faceted: the Cambodians must face the loss of many loved ones, the conditions of poverty, lingering land mines, lack of medical care, ambiguous relations with the Vietnamese, and many other hardships while trying to understand how this horrible genocide occurred. One Cambodian referred to these hardships when she said, “we are blessed and cursed with our survival.” The visual images range from grotesque (the open hut housing thousands of skulls and bones from the dead Cambodians) to serene (the peaceful peasants quietly harvesting rice). As different Cambodians speak of their current lives, the viewer begins to feel and fully comprehend their struggle. One woman asks the disturbing question: “How often in the market do we brush against those [members of the Khmer Rouge] who tortured us?” This documentary assures the viewer that the “shadow of war” is still hovering over the Cambodians, but they are strong people whose plan to become more “loving” will assure their endurance.

Vietnam: A Television History. Dir. Elizabeth Deane. Videocassette. Sony and WGBH Educational Foundation, 1987.

This seven-volume, thirteen-hour, documentation of the Vietnam War is, according to the New York Times, “Meticulously researched and carefully balanced. . . [it] may broaden many Americans’ understanding of Vietnam, if not change their opinion about the war.” Episode 9, located in volume 5, is dedicated to Cambodia and Laos. Through video documentation of the war, interviews with military leaders and education of military objectives, the viewer learns of the unfortunate involvement of these two border countries in the Vietnam war. The “costs and consequences” of drawing the peaceful country of Cambodia into this complicated war are undeniable. This video informs, for example, of the Khmer Rouge overthrow of the United States backed Lon Nol democratic government, an outcome that many Cambodians supported until they became painfully aware of the cruel and genocidal nature of the Khmer Rouge. This episode effectively communicates the entire history of Cambodian entanglement in the Vietnam war, from the onset of American involvement in 1961 to the horrific conditions under the Khmer Rouge that resulted.

Online Resources

The American Experience: Vietnam Online http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/

A PBS sponsored web page on the Vietnam War, the six of the original seven sections in the menu still active are Introduction, Who’s Who, Vietnam Timeline, Reflections on a War, In the Trenches, and Reference. The Who’s Who section provides small biographies of key figures in the Vietnam War, including Lon Nol, Pol Pot, and Norodom Sihanouk, for those interested in Cambodia’s relation to the Vietnam War.

Cambodia's Killing Fields http://www.thekillingfields.cjb.net/ [Archived]

Specifically focused on the Cambodian Holocaust, this site contains pictures, poems, historical facts, and eyewitness accounts that cover the personal as well as historical aspects of this horrific event. Of the ten sections in this page’s menu, the Image Gallery, Cambodian Archive, Latest Cambodian News, History, Eyewitness Accounts, and What is the Killing Fields? are the most useful for researching the “Killing Field” history, the Archive especially so, as it provides links to other sites related to the Cambodian Holocaust. The Killing Fields Movie section is also interesting, and includes audio clips from this important film.

Cambodian Information Center Homepage http://www.cambodia.org/

This site provides a great deal of information on Cambodia, from history and current affairs to travel and folklore.  It is separated into five main sections, the first two of which contain the most helpful information on Cambodian history.  Some links and text are written in Khmer for the Cambodian reader.

The Dith Pran Holocaust Awareness Project, Inc. http://www.dithpran.org/

Founded by Dith Pran, this comprehensive site concerning the Cambodian Holocaust is comprised of twelve sections: Children of the Killing Fields, Mission Statement, What is Genocide?, Archives, Killing Fields, Our Goals, How can you help, Current News, Pran’s Photos, Dithpran Bio, Link Exchange, and Comments. The Archives are especially useful, providing links to fifty web sites related to the Cambodian Holocaust.

From Sideshow to Genocide: Stories of the Cambodian Holocaust http://www.edwebproject.org/sideshow/

Another comprehensive page on the Cambodian Holocaust, its menu includes Introduction to the Website, What is Genocide?, Cambodia Before the Holocaust, The Khmer Rouge Years, Survivor Stories, Suggested Resources, The Wall of Remembrance, and About the Author. The Suggested Resources are extremely useful, with links to sites on The Cambodian Genocide, Holocaust/Genocide Studies, Cambodia Today, Laos and Hmong Pages, and Vietnam War Resources.

Kathy Amen's Movie Reviews http://www.kathyamen.net/reviews/rvkillf.html

Kathy Amen, the Government Documents Librarian at St. Mary’s University in Texas, and movie-connoisseur, reviews hundreds of films on this personal web site. Here, Kathy raves about The Killing Fields, calling it “an inspiring testament to the strength of the spirit of humanity.” This page is useful to anyone searching for a quick review of a popular film, or for a list of comparison films in the Musical, Science, Fiction/Fantasy, Shakespeare, Sports, War, or Western categories.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Page http://thewall-usa.com/index.html

This page is dedicated to the Vietnam War Memorial. It contains 21 sub-sections, including a photo gallery and literary works â€" both pertaining solely to this memorial, a “Wall” slide show, and Vietnam casualty summaries. By far the most interesting and useful portion of this site is the search service it provides, allowing a person to electronically search the wall (with a little information about the deceased) for the exact location of a loved one’s name.

Vietnam Yesterday and Today http://servercc.oakton.edu/~wittman/

An excellent source for anyone interested in researching the Vietnam War, this site is divided into four main sections, The Vietnam War, Research Materials, Vietnam War Literature, and Web Links, each containing sub-divisions which are all visible from the home page. Aspects varying from post-traumatic stress disorder to Vietnam poetry are covered in this site.

The Wars of Viet Nam: 1945-1975 http://students.vassar.edu/~vietnam/index.html [Archived]

This Vassar College site contains three sections: The Viet Nam War: An Overview, The Documents, and Other Viet Nam Links. The overview provided is clear and thorough, and the documents presented comprehensively cover this war’s political paper trail. Of great use are the fifty links to other Vietnam sites, listed and categorized under the divisions, About Vietnam, The Viet Nam War, Remembrance, Archives, Images, Vietnam Today, Culture, Travel, and Vietnamese Software.