The 10 most horrific mass suicides in the history of mankind

Mass suicides have always been perceived as cruel and terrible events. Unfortunately, they have happened more than once in the history of mankind and continue to happen today. They are committed by a group of people who have decided to die together at the same time in the same place or in different parts of the world, but at the same time. When it comes to mass suicides, it mainly concerns religious communities or cults, but there are cases when people decide to do this in order not to fall into the hands of enemies.

In 73 AD, the members of the Sicarii society decided to die so as not to get to the enemies. They were surrounded by the Romans in the fortress of Masada and had no way to escape. The men first killed their wives and children, and then themselves. The survivors set fire to the walls of the fortress and burned down with everyone. Scientists do not know for sure whether this event took place in history or not, but so far this mass suicide is striking.

The Pilenai fortress became famous as a result of a mass suicide committed in 1336. The army of the knights of the Teutonic Order has almost won a victory over the defenders of the fortress, who realized that they could no longer restrain the attacks of the enemies. Instead of surrendering, they decide to burn the fortress to the ground along with all their possessions and commit suicide. According to the chronicles, about 4,000 people lived in the fortress at that time. All the defenders and their families were burned.

In 1906, a terrible mass suicide occurred in the city of Denpasar during the invasion of the Dutch. During the attack on the royal palace, the Dutch could hear the sound of drums coming from inside, and see smoke rising from the palace. Suddenly they saw a procession led by the rajah and the priests, who left the palace in complete silence. When the procession stopped, the rajah gave a signal and one of the priests killed him with a knife, and others began to do the same. The Dutch were so amazed by what they saw that they opened fire on the procession. Then more than a thousand people died.

In 1945, as a result of a panic caused by the approach of the Soviet army, a mass suicide occurred in the city of Demmin, Germany. Residents of the city were afraid of torture, rape and execution. Refugees who sought refuge in the city, whole families decided to commit suicide. They hanged themselves, cut their wrists, drowned themselves in the river and committed self-immolation. In total, 700-1000 people died in this way. After this incident, the Communist Party of East Germany legally banned suicide. The bodies of all the victims were buried in a common grave, which was subsequently not cared for by anyone.

The cult community "Heaven's Gate" is an American religious movement, whose members believed that the planet Earth should be reborn. In 1997, a group of people with the belief that somewhere in space an alien ship is flying to Earth and in order to get on it, you have to die, decided to commit suicide. 39 people committed suicide by drinking a mixture of vodka and phenobarbital in a large white house that they rented in advance. All the bodies were dressed the same, and the same amounts of money were found in their pockets. The victims had bags of things under their heads. The murders were committed within three days, so the survivors cleaned up after the dead and then committed suicide themselves. Within a week, 39 people committed suicide — all this in order for the soul to get on an alien spaceship.

In 1984, Luc Jore and Joseph di Mambo founded the cult "Temple of the Sun" and began to teach their followers that life is an illusion, and the adherents of the cult will be able to be reborn and live on a planet in the constellation of Psa. Dr. Jore and his followers believed that in a previous life he was a knight of the Templar Order and the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. In 1994, mass suicides began. At first, in two villages in Switzerland, the adherents of the cult massively poisoned themselves, shot themselves and strangled each other. In 1995, 16 bodies that lay in the form of a star were found in France. In 1997, a fire broke out in a house in Quebec, after which the police found five burnt bodies. Fortunately, the children remained alive, but were under the influence of drugs. In total, 74 adherents of the "Temple of the Sun" cult committed suicide.

In June 1944, American soldiers landed on the island of Saipan after a month-long siege of the island's inhabitants and its defenders. Out of fear of being captured, the inhabitants of the island decided to die by order of the emperor, but not to get to the enemy. Through loudspeakers, American soldiers calmed the Japanese, offered them food and a free exit from the island, but they were so scared that they decided to jump off the cliff into the sea. Today, this rock is called "suicide rock". It is not known exactly how many people died then, but it is believed that about 10,000.

This religious movement was founded in the 1980s in Uganda by three people who said that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to them and told them that they should go and preach. The adherents of the movement believed that the end of the world would happen on March 17, 2000. On the specified day, more than 500 people came to the church, they prayed, sang songs and ate fried bull meat. After a while, the church building exploded, and everyone was killed. Later, the corpses of several more followers of the movement were found in their homes. Today, there is a debate about whether it was a mass suicide or a murder.

As a result of the siege by the US federal forces of a ranch belonging to the "Branch of David" cult, 76 people were killed. The American police wanted to check the ranch for illegal weapons, but as a result of the shootout, four agents and six cult adherents were killed. After that, the FBI intervened in the situation. The siege lasted 51 days. Soon, the FBI agents decided to organize a gas attack. During it, a fire started in the house, and 76 people were burned. It is still unknown who initiated the fire, but the official authorities tend to believe that the adepts themselves became the initiators of the fire, which means their death.

In Johnstown, one of the most terrible mass suicides occurred — 913 adherents of the local cult took poison. The adherents of the cult organized by Jim Jones initially gathered with the noble goal of helping those in need, but gradually the members of this cult began to be psychologically processed and forcibly detained. After the murder of a congressman by adherents of the cult, the leaders instilled fear in the members of the movement and persuaded them to commit suicide. 913 people, including 276 children, took poison. Jones was shot in the head and died. It is still unknown whether it was a mass suicide or a murder.