The genocide of the Congolese by the colonial administration of Belgian King Leopold II was one of the greatest crimes in history. Millions of Congolese were murdered or brutally tortured in order to secure the harvest of rubber.

This edition records the devastation wrought by European colonialism in Africa. It also describes the shocking actions of British journalist and activist Edmund Morel, who exposed Leopold's crimes and, after years of effort, managed to create the first mass human rights movement of the previous century. This edition focuses on this unexpected yet forgotten hero, restoring him to the same stature as the activists of the White Rose and Albert Schweitzer as an example of practical humanism and solidarity.

This book is the third volume in the series "For a New Humanism." It follows the publication of the proclamations of the White Rose organization (1942-1943) and a volume dedicated to the work and thought of the great humanitarian Albert Schweitzer.

The "For a New Humanism" publishing series aspires to present philosophical and political texts, as well as testimonies and documents that share a unique (but central) common point: a cultural or moral counterproposal to the prevailing cultures of violence, revenge, hatred, and ritual murder, which are presented as "historical inevitability" in foundational cultural narratives. In small and user-friendly editions, we will attempt to focus on the stories and texts of people who, with a burning spirit and fervent hearts, fought to shape love, solidarity, and moral resistance against the catastrophic human History.

Thanasis Triaridis