King Leopold II: Just as Evil—Maybe Worse—Than Hitler, So Why Isn’t He Infamous?

(ReggaeVibeMedia.com) – When discussions arise about the most evil men in history, the name Adolf Hitler is always at the forefront. His role in orchestrating the Holocaust, which led to the deaths of approximately six million Jews and millions of others, has cemented his legacy as a symbol of ultimate human cruelty. However, a less spoken name, King Leopold II of Belgium, was just as, if not more, evil than Hitler. His exploitation of the Congo Free State resulted in an estimated ten million African deaths, yet history has conveniently erased his atrocities from mainstream discourse. Why? Because his victims were African.

Leopold II: The Hidden Genocide

Leopold II ruled Belgium from 1865 to 1909, but his true infamy lies in his private ownership of the Congo Free State (1885-1908). Under the guise of philanthropy and economic development, he turned the region into a massive forced labor camp. The brutal exploitation of Congolese people for rubber and ivory extraction led to mass killings, mutilations, and starvation. Colonial agents imposed inhumane quotas on rubber collection, and those who failed to meet them were often punished with amputations or executions. Entire villages were razed, and families destroyed as a result of Leopold’s greed-driven terror.

While Hitler’s crimes were recorded with meticulous Nazi documentation, Leopold’s reign of terror relied on cover-ups and misinformation. Many of the records were destroyed, and the Western world largely ignored the atrocities, as European powers benefited economically from his actions.

Hitler’s Infamy vs. Leopold’s Concealed Atrocities

Hitler’s crimes were committed in an era of photography, film, and international journalism. The Nazi regime’s industrialized killing through concentration camps left undeniable evidence, widely publicized and condemned. The world saw the bodies, the camps, the survivors. The Nuremberg Trials ensured that the full scope of his actions remained in public consciousness.

Leopold, on the other hand, operated in an age of imperialism, where European nations routinely engaged in brutal colonial exploitation. The idea of Africans suffering under European rule was neither shocking nor a priority for the world at the time. His crimes were hidden behind the smokescreen of “civilizing” missions, and his public relations machine successfully crafted an image of a benevolent ruler. His death in 1909 saw no criminal charges, no major reckoning, and certainly no equivalent of the Nuremberg Trials.

Despite orchestrating mass murder, torture, and forced labor on a level that rivals Hitler, Leopold is rarely mentioned in discussions of history’s greatest villains. The simple truth is that the world does not view African suffering with the same level of importance as European suffering.

Death Toll Comparison: Hitler vs. Leopold II

Breaking down the numbers of lives lost under their reigns:

• Hitler’s Death Toll: Approximately six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, along with millions of other victims, including Polish and Soviet civilians, Romani people, disabled individuals, and political dissidents. The total death toll is estimated between 11 to 17 million.
• King Leopold II’s Death Toll: Estimates of deaths in the Congo Free State due to Leopold’s exploitation range from 1.2 million to 15 million, with many historians agreeing on a figure close to 10 million. The exact number remains disputed due to lack of proper records.

Selective Outrage and Western Narratives

The disparity in how history remembers these two figures is not accidental—it is a reflection of racial bias in historical narratives. Hitler’s crimes were against Europeans, making them widely acknowledged and condemned. Leopold’s crimes, however, were against Africans, and so they are dismissed, downplayed, or outright erased from mainstream history.

Leopold was not just as evil as Hitler; in many ways, he may have been worse. His reign of terror in the Congo lasted longer, his methods of brutality were unimaginably cruel, and the economic exploitation that fueled his crimes had long-lasting effects that still impact Central Africa today. Yet, while Hitler remains the face of pure evil in human history, Leopold is often an afterthought—because the world has always been comfortable forgetting about African pain.