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Notable mass suicides
The 960 members of the Israeli community at Masada, who collectively committed suicide in the first century C.E., rather than be conquered and enslaved by the Romans.
in May 1945 about 900 occupiers of Demmin in Germany collectively committed suicide in fear about the invasion of the Red Army
Japan is known for its centuries of suicide tradition, from hara-kiri ceremonial self-of Saipan preacher and head of the Peoples Temple. (It should be noted that it is believed that many of those 913 people were murdered, or forcibly injected with cyanide against their will.)
Peoples Temple (Jim Jones)
In 1978, 914 American followers of Jim Jones died in a mass murder/suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. The dead included 274 children. Alternative theories allege that most of the victims were unwillingly injected with the poison, and some even allege involvement of the CIA. However, an affadavit made by former member Deborah Layton days before the massacre testified to suicide drills called white nights in which members practiced mass suicide by ingesting poison, and in Jones' final speech, recorded on cassette tape, he states "So my opinion is that you be kind to children and be kind to seniors and take the potion like they used to take in ancient Greece..." stating the intention that the group kill themselves while casting it as a political act: "We didn't commit suicide, we committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world."
Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
On March 17, 2000, between 780 and 1000 members of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God died in a probable mass suicide in Uganda. The group had splintered from Roman Catholicism to emphasize apocalypticism and alleged Marian apparitions. They also deemed the wider world to be corrupt, seeing themselves as a Noah's Ark of purity. Along these ends members severely restricted their speech to avoid saying anything dishonest or sinful. Curiously, the group had a feast that involved large quantities of Coca-Cola and beef before dying.
Solar Temple
From 1994 to 1997, the Order of the Solar Temple's members became so paranoid they began a series of mass suicides, which led to roughly 74 deaths. Farewell letters were left by members, stating that they believed their deaths would be an escape from the "hypocrisies and oppression of this world." Added to this they felt they were "moving on to Sirius." Interestingly, a mayor, a journalist, a civil servant, and a sales manager were among the dead. Records seized by the Quebec police showed that some members had personally donated over $1 million to the cult's leader, Joseph Di Mambro. There was also another attempted mass suicide of the remaining members, which was thwarted in the late 1990s. All the suicide/murders and attempts occurred around the dates of the equinoxes and solstices, which likely held some relation to the beliefs of the group.
Heaven's Gate
On March 26, 1997, 39 followers of the Heaven's Gate cult died in a mass suicide near San Diego, California. In the beliefs of the cult, this was not an act of self-extermination; they believed that they were merely "exiting their human vehicles" so that their souls could go on a journey aboard a spaceship they believed to be following comet Hale-Bopp. Some male members of the cult underwent voluntary castration in preparation for the genderless life they believed awaited them after the suicide. The victims were self-drugged and then suffocated by other members in a series of suicides over a period of three days. Thirty-nine died, most were in their 40's and came from a wide range of backgrounds.
On March 30, 1997, Robert Leon Nichols, a former roadie for the Grateful Dead, was discovered dead in his California trailer, with a note nearby that read in part "I'm going to the spaceship with Hale-Bopp to be with those who have gone before me." Using propane gas rather than vodka and phenobarbital to end his life, Nichols, like the cult members, had his head covered by a plastic bag and his upper torso covered with a purple shroud. Nichols' connection with the cult is unknown.
In May 1997, two cult members who had not been present for the mass suicide attempted suicide, one succeeding in the attempt, the other going into coma for two days and then recovering. In February 1998 the survivor, Chuck Humphrey, attempted suicide, this time succeeding.
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