South Vietnam
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Transcript of South Vietnam
South Vietnam
Diem Regime
Emperor Boa Dai
Playboy lifestyle
Had 5 wives and a lot
of mistresses
Prime Minister
Ngo Dinh Diem removed
Emperor using a
referendum widely thought
to be fraudulent
Ngo Dinh Diem
• Referendum was rigged, with Diem gaining 98% of the vote.
• Diem’s rule was authoritarian and nepotistic (favouring his family)
• Ngo Dinh Nhi was his brother and trusted official.
• He was an opium addict and admired Hitler.• Secret Police was styled on the Gestapo
Family Corruption
• Widely believed to be involved in smuggling rice to North Vietnam and Opium throughout Asia.
Madame Nhu
• Vietnams first lady, Dragon Lady of Vietnam
• Enjoyed power, “Power is wonderful, total power is totally wonderful”
• Catholic values formed the policy• Brothels, opium dens closed, divorce and
abortion illegal and adultery laws strengthened.
Religious Sects
• Under the Diem Regime the Hoa Hao and Cao Dai Sects were crushed
• Discrimination• Ban on flying the
Buddhist Flag
Protests against the Government
• Quang Duc, 73 year old monk
• Protesting the anti-Buddhist policies
• Madame Nhu hoped for more “barbecues”
• Ngo Dinh Nhi “offered to supply the gasoline”
Anti-Communist
• Tortures and killings of "communist suspects" were committed on a daily basis
• The death toll was put at around 50,000 with 75,000 imprisonments, and Diệm's effort extended beyond communists to anti-communist dissidents and anti-corruption whistleblowers