April 17, 1975

history

Fall of Phnom Penh

Content note This entry describes genocide.

The Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh and emptied the city at gunpoint, beginning a genocide that killed some 1.5-2 million Cambodians and drove waves of survivors to seek refuge in the US. (Shares Apr 17 with the 1900 American Samoa cession.)

Sources

  1. ushmm.org ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/countries/cambodia/day-one
  2. history.com history.com/this-day-in-history/april-17/cambodia-falls-to-the-khmer-rouge

Also on April 17