Pol Pot killed like a quarter of his country's population in less than a decade.
Not just that, but Pol Pot went beyond thuggery and torture and inflicted a level of psychological abuse on his people that is downright chilling.
He was virtually never seen in public and most Cambodians didn't even know what he looked like. He was a sinister, reclusive figure whose enforcement apparatus was simply known as
Angkar ("The Organization") - depersonalized and Orwellian.
People were obliged to dress in black and prepare for their death - which was to be seen as a form of liberation and renewal. The so-called "New People" who were condemned to die in forced labor agrarian collectives were bombarded with the refrain of nihilism and futility, "To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss." It almost makes "Arbeit Macht Frei" seem cuddly.