The photographs taken after the massacre documented the horror of the event with all its facts. Hundreds of human corpses of all ages lying face down on the grass…
Let’s take a look at the chilling details of the Jonestown Massacre, about which books, articles and documentaries are still written, even after 45 years.
Jonestown’s story begins with Jones, a white pastor preaching unconventional socialist and progressive ideas to a predominantly African-American congregation called the “People’s Town.”
The “People’s Temple” is generally known as a cult in which its members dedicate their blind allegiance to a man and a cause at the expense of their selves and livelihoods.
But a closer look at Jim Jones’ followers reveals a wide and diverse mix of racial backgrounds and age groups with an interest in the progressive and activist ideals of the church.
These selfless and hardworking people have done selfless work for the community during their time at the temple, and some have changed their lives by getting rid of drugs and crime. “We all felt like we were more of a ‘family’ than a church,” said Kohl, one of the members. says.
The sect is estimated to have thousands of members at the height of its popularity in the 1970s.
In 1977, Jones becomes paranoid after media scrutiny of the temple’s dubious activities and moves with many of his followers to an agricultural settlement, or Jonestown, in Guyana, a remote country in eastern Venezuela.
Members at this place; their religious, economic and social lives are under control. The members are now becoming dependent on Jones. The leader is a married man who adopts children of different races and has sexual relations with both male and female followers.
Those who knew the cult leader Jones describe the strange facts about him as follows:
Joyce Houston, a former follower of the cult, in the Jonestown documentary: “Jim said we were all gay. Everyone but him. He was the only straight guy on the planet and all the women were lesbians, all the men were gay.” she says.
According to Jeff Guinn’s book “The Road to Jonestown,” Jones also developed an early interest in Adolf Hitler. “When Hitler thwarted his enemies trying to capture and humiliate him by committing suicide in April 1945, Jimmy was impressed.” he writes.
Jones’ childhood friend, Chuck Wilmore, in the 2006 documentary “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple”: “I thought Jimmy was a really weird kid. He was obsessed with religion, obsessed with death. A friend told me that Jimmy killed a cat with a knife. He said he saw it.” says.
On November 18, 1978, the US delegation sets out to study the sect.
On the day of the Jonestown Massacre, a delegation from the US Congress arrives in Jonestown to study the cult. The allegations were serious; it looked more like a slave camp than a religious centre.
There was talk of beatings, forced labor, prison sentences, drug use to control behavior, suspicious deaths, and even mass suicide rehearsals.
Congressman Ryan talks to Jones and many other members when he travels to Jolestown. Some families and a few people want to go with Ryan, while others leave on their own. Jones is not happy about this.
Ryan and other congressmen are gunned down.
Ryan needs a second plane as he wants the entire group to fly together, fearing retaliation for those left behind, and takeoff is delayed. Group; On the 18th, it gathers on an airstrip in the afternoon.
As Ryan’s plane prepares to take off, a dump truck arrives from Jonestown with a few gunmen. While firing on one plane, a cultist named Larry Layton, who boarded the other plane, takes out his gun and starts shooting. Ryan and several others die and many are injured.
After these murders, Jones orders his followers to drink a cyanide-infused beverage, starting with children first.
The leader had hired armed guards to ensure no one came out alive. A total of 918 people died in Jonestown, including Jim Jones, who was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head, 304 of whom were children.
The general view of what happened was a mass suicide as people lined up to drink the poisoned beverage, although witnesses and former members of the temple have claimed it was a mass murder.
Long before the massacre, Jones; He had his followers drink what they believed was poison to test him for loyalty. It looked like a rehearsal for what was to come.
This event is a subject of investigation for many areas.
The Jonestown Massacre is engraved as one of the largest mass suicides and murders in modern history. It also became one of the most realistic and horrific examples of the abuse and manipulation of leadership in the sects.
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