History Main / GenocideSurvivor

* '''Literature/IfThisIsAMan'' tells how its author Primo Levi survived UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust.

* ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'': Tyr’s people, the Kodiak pride, were wiped out by the Drago-Kazov pride. Unfortunately for him, under Nietzschean morality, the fact that his people were wiped out only served as evidence that they, and by extension Tyr, were genetically inferior.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''
** The Borg, ({{cyborg}}s with a HiveMind who turn you into one of them by "assimilating" you) tried to assimilate Guinan's whole species, but there were a few who survived un-assimilated, such as Guinan herself, and her immediate family.
** "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E9TheVengeanceFactor The Vengeance Factor]]" features the last surviving member of an alien clan on a lifelong mission to [[GenocideBackfire wipe out every last member]] of the clan that wiped hers out.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' started with the [[SpaceJews Bajorans]] being newly liberated after surviving the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Cardassian]] occupation. Their recovery is a major theme of the series.
* On ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', Neelix is one of the few survivors of a moon whose population was wiped out by a weapon of mass destruction.
* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E13TheConscienceOfTheKing The Conscience of the King]]", Kirk is stated to be a survivor of a genocide on the planet Tarsus IV, where the Governor ordered thousands of citizens killed to ensure the rest could survive, using eugenics to decide who lived and died. Oddly, Kirk's status as a survivor of a genocide is rarely touched on elsewhere in the series.

* ''VideoGame/{{Darksiders}}'': The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are the last surviving Nephilim. The Nephilim were an ancient race created by combining the essence of Angels and Demons. Angered over the fact they did not have a world of their own, the Nephilim waged war against all of creation. Realizing how the Nephilim rampage was destroying the balance of reality, the four turned on their brethren and became servants of the Charred Council. In exchange for their service, the four were granted immense power and tasked with wiping out the Nephilim to preserve order. Afterwards the four would remain the enforcers of the Charred Council to help maintain the balance between Heaven and Hell before the time of the End War.
** ''VideoGame/DarksidersII'': It's revealed that one other Nephilim besides the four survived, the eldest and leader Absalom. More specifically, Absalom was resurrected by a strange biomagic known simply as "Corruption". Now empowered by corruption, [[GenocideBackfire Absalom swears vengeance against the four that betrayed their kin]] and plans to use his newfound abilities to destroy the very balance the horsemen are sworn to protect by corrupting and destroying the "Tree of Life and Death" that connects all reality, along with the "Well of Souls" located within which controls the flow of life, death, and rebirth.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock}}'': Brigid Tenenbaum was sent during [=WW2=] to Auschwitz and managed to survive by [[TheCollaborator collaborating with]] [[PlayingWithSyringes Nazi doctors]] due to her being a TeenGenius at 16.

* ''ComicBook/{{Gamora}}'' is the last member of the Zen Whoberian species. After her people were exterminated by the Universal Church of Truth, she was adopted by Thanos and trained as a deadly assassin.

* ''ComicBook/{{Magneto}}'' is a Jewish man who survived UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust when he was a boy. The experience of watching his entire family die and being sent to Auschwitz fundamentally shaped his personality, beliefs, and his reaction to the persecution of mutants. Magneto is more than willing to use deadly force to protect mutants because he's determined to make sure that what happened to the Jewish people in 1940s Europe never happens again.

** Trafalgar Law's backstory had his hometown of Flevance massacred by neighboring countries due to a lie being spread about a skin disease called, "Amber Lead Syndrome", claiming that it was contagious. In reality, it was not contagious, it was a hereditary disease caused from generations of the kingdom's populace mining for the Amber Lead and turning it into various goods. The World Government and the kingdom's royalty were ''fully aware'' of how deadly amber lead was and that the disease was not contagious but didn't reveal it to the public because of all the money they were making from trading goods created from it. Once the symptoms became more and more noticeable, the royalty fled the country and abandoned the people, leaving them to fend for themselves as the neighboring countries quarantined the borders and then started killing the people to contain the disease. This eventually culminated in the people grabbing weapons to fight back, only for the countries to invade and slaughter them under the obviously fake excuse of, "self-defense", ending with the entirety of Flevance being wiped out. Law only managed to survive by hiding under a pile ''corpses'' that were being wheeled out of the country.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' revealed that Po was the sole survivor of an attack on his home village conducted by the main antagonist Lord Shen. [[spoiler:its revealed in the stinger and the third film ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3'' that Po's biological father survived as well, and now leads a village of other pandas who also survived.]]

** Obi-wan Kenobi and Yoda are among the only survivors of the Sith's attempt to wipe out the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars. They become hermits on different planets (Tatooine and Dagobah, respectively) until Luke Skywalker gets them both to train him as a Jedi. The expanded universe has since introduced several other survivors, and focused in on their lives trying to move on from the tragedy while avoiding discovery.

** Trafalgar Law's backstory had his hometown of Flevance massacred by neighboring countries due to a lie being spread about a skin disease called, "Amber Lead Syndrome", claiming that it was contagious. In reality, it was not contagious, it was a hereditary disease caused from generations of the kingdom's populace mining for the Amber Lead and turning it into various goods. The World Government and the kingdom's royalty were ''fully aware'' of how deadly amber lead was and that the disease was not contagious but didn't reveal it to the public because of all the money they were making. Once the symptoms became more and more noticeable, the royalty fled the country and abandoned the people, leaving them to fend for themselves as the neighboring countries quarantined the borders and then started killing the people to contain the disease. This eventually culminated in the people grabbing weapons to fight back, only for the countries to invade and slaughter them under the obviously fake excuse of, "self-defense", ending with the entirety of Flevance being wiped out. Law only managed to survive by hiding under a pile ''corpses'' that were being wheeled out of the country.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock}}'': Brigid Tenenbaum was sent during WW2 to Auschwitz and managed to survive by [[TheCollaborator collaborating with]] [[PlayingWithSyringes Nazi doctors]] due to her being a TeenGenius at 16.

** Trafalgar Law's backstory had his hometown of Flevance massacred by neighboring countries due to a lie being spread about a skin disease called, "Amber Lead Syndrome", claiming that it was contagious. In reality, it was not contagious, it was a hereditary disease caused from generations of the kingdom's populace mining for the Amber Lead and turning it into various goods. The World Government and the kingdom's royalty were ''fully aware'' of how deadly amber lead was and that the disease was not contagious but didn't reveal it to the public because of all the money they were making. Once the symptoms became more and more noticeable, the royalty fled and abandoned the people leaving them to fend for themselves. Law only managed to survive by hiding under a pile ''dead bodies'' that were being wheeled out of the country.

** Trafalgar Law's backstory had his hometown of Flevance massacred by neighboring countries due to a lie being spread about a skin disease called, "Amber Lead Syndrome", claiming that it was contagious. In reality, it was not contagious, it was a hereditary disease caught from generations of the kingdom's populace mining for the Amber Lead material. The World Government and the kingdom's royalty were ''fully aware'' of how deadly amber lead was and that the disease was not contagious but didn't reveal it to the public because of all the money they were making. Once the symptoms became more and more noticeable, the royalty fled and abandoned the people leaving them to fend for themselves. Law only managed to survive by hiding under a pile ''dead bodies'' that were being wheeled out of the country.

** Nico Robin is the only survivor of her island of Ohara mainly due to the island's scholars attempting to research the forbidden "The Void Century", a period in history with no records the World Government is trying to keep hidden. When they found out what the Oharan scholars were doing, they summoned a Buster Call to ''obliterate'' everything and everyone on the island. Robin was the only survivor and more importantly had the ability to read the Poneglyphs that could reveal the truth of the Void Century, as such the Government issued a false story claiming the Oharans were demons trying to revive the Ancient Weapons to destroy the world and issued a large bounty on Robin, forcing her to live the next 20+ years constantly on the run from everyone. The trauma from the event is the main driving force behind her actions in the Enies Lobby Saga.

* ''VideoGame/{{Darksiders}}'': The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are the last surviving Nephilim. The Nephilim were an ancient race created by combining the essence of Angels and Demons. Angered over the fact they did not have a world of their own, the Nephilim waged war against all of creation. The four realizing how the Nephilim rampage was destroying the balance of reality, turned on their brethren and became servants of the Charred Council. In exchange for their service, the four were granted immense power and tasked with wiping out the Nephilim to preserve order. Afterwards the four would remain the enforcers of the Charred Council to help maintain the balance between Heaven and Hell before the time of the End War.

* ''VideoGame/{{Darksiders}}'': The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are the last surviving Nephilim. The Nephilim were an ancient race created by combining the essence Angels and Demons. Angered over the fact they did not have a world of their own, the Nephilim waged war against all of creation. The four realizing how the Nephilim rampage was destroying the balance of reality, turned on their brethren and became servants of the Charred Council. In exchange for their service, the four were granted immense power and tasked with wiping out the Nephilim to preserve order. Afterwards the four would remain the enforcers of the Charred Council to help maintain the balance between Heaven and Hell before the End War.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' revealed that Po was the survivor of an attack on his home village. By the end of the episode, we learn that [[spoiler: Po's biological father survived as well, and now leads a village of other pandas who also survived.]]

** A hundred years before the start of the series, the Fire Nation wiped out the Air Nomads in hopes of killing Aang, the Avatar, in the process. Aang was the only survivor, ironically enough, because he was [[HumanPopsicle trapped in an iceberg]] the whole time and the Fire Nation never found him. The series delves into how much Aang struggles with being the LastOfHisKind, such as when he visits the ruins of his former home [[spoiler: and finds his father figure's remains]] or when he tries to stay true to the values of his culture even though his friends don't fully understand them. The SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'' reveals that Aang showed ParentalFavoritism toward his son Tenzin for being the only one of his children to inherit airbending and thus being the only one he could pass his culture on to. This caused his other two children, Kya and Bumi, to feel neglected.
** After wiping out the Air Nomads, the Fire Nation launched a campaign to get rid of all the waterbenders in the Southern Water Tribe because the Avatar was expected to reincarnate as a waterbender. As a result, Katara is the only waterbender left in the entire South Pole. Throughout the first book, she struggles to learn waterbending on her own until she reaches the Northern Water Tribe and finds a teacher. In Book 3, she meets Hama, another waterbender from her tribe who had been captured many years ago but managed to escape and start a new life in the Fire Nation. They bond over their shared culture and Katara is excited to learn the traditional southern style of waterbending from Hama. [[spoiler: That is, until she learns that Hama has been using [[PeoplePuppets bloodbending]] to kidnap and imprison random Fire Nation citizens as revenge for what happened to her]].

** After TheEmpire bombed the hell out of Lasan, Zeb believed that he was the LastOfHisKind. This changed when [[spoiler:he encountered two fellow survivors who guided him to the true homeworld of the Lasat]].
** The Empire also genocided the Geonosians, leaving one fellow referred to as Klik-Klak.

** Nico Robin is the only survivor of her island of Ohara mainly due to the island's scholars doing a forbidden practice of researching "The Blank Century", a moment in history that the World Government is trying to keep from the world. When the World Government found out what they were doing, they ''carpet bombed'' the whole island with a Buster Call, a tactic that involves using warships to do so. After which she was hounded relentlessly by government agents when they noted she was alive (largely due to her ability to read Poneglyphs and fearing she would revive the Ancient Weapons which she clearly isn't trying to do), practically forcing her into piracy just to survive. The trauma is the main driving force behind the Water 7 and Enies Lobby arcs for her actions as she doesn't want that fate to befall the Straw Hats.
** Trafalgar Law's backstory had his hometown of Flevance massacred by World Government agents due to a lie the government spread about a skin disease called the Amber Lead Poisoning, which manifested as white splotches on his skin and claiming it contagious. In reality, it wasn't and was a hereditary disease caught from generations of the kingdom's populace mining for the Amber Lead material. The World Government and the kingdom's royalty ''knew'' about this but didn't disclose it to the citizens and once the symptoms became more and more noticeable, the royalty fled and left their people there to fend for themselves. Law managed to avoid detection by hiding under ''dead bodies'' that were being wheeled out of the country.

** “The Vengeance Factor” features the last surviving member of an alien clan on a lifelong mission to [[GenocideBackfire wipe out every last member]] of the clan that wiped hers out.

* On ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' Neelix is one of the few survivors of a moon whose population was wiped out by a weapon of mass destruction.
* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' "The Conscience of the King", Kirk is stated to be a survivor of a genocide on the planet Tarsus IV, where the Governor ordered thousands of citizens killed to ensure the rest could survive, using eugenics to decide who lived and died. Oddly, Kirk's status as a survivor of a genocide is rarely touched on elsewhere in the series.

** Obi-wan Kenobi and Yoda are among the only survivors of the Sith's attempt to wipe out the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars. They become hermits on different planets (Tatooine and Dagobah, respectively) until Luke Skywalker gets them both to train him as a Jedi.

If the survivor eventually goes after the perpetrators, the result is GenocideBackfire. It may also be used as a setup for NiceJobBreakingItHerod if the survivors have descendants; those descendants may become a RacialRemnant. Compare WarRefugees, which can overlap. Those guilty of GenocideFromTheInside do not qualify as this trope.

Genocide is one of the most horrific crimes that can perpetrated, and surviving a genocide almost inevitably leaves deep scars, whether physical or mental. Apart from how traumatizing it can be to face a threat to your life, be driven from your home, and lose numerous loved ones, making it to the other side of genocide only comes with a new set of challenges. Survivors have had their lives radically altered and things can never go back to being the same.

If the survivor eventually goes after the perpetrators, the result is GenocideBackfire. It may also be used as a setup for NiceJobBreakingItHerod If the survivors have descendants, those descendants may become a RacialRemnant. Compare WarRefugees, which can overlap. Those guilty of GenocideFromTheInside do not qualify as this trope.

** ''[[Anime/DragonBallSuper Super's]]'' Goku Black arc ended with Zamasu's essence wiping out all the mortals of Trunks timelines save the Future Mai, the Future Zeno and him. While his timelines Zeno does erase that Zamasu, he likewise erase that timeline in the process with only the three of them the last remnants of that timeline.

** Trafalgar Law's backstory had his hometown of Flevance massacred by World Government agents due to a lie the government spread about a skin disease called the Amber Lead Poisoning, which manifested as white splotches on his skin, and claiming it contagious. In reality, it wasn't and was a hereditary disease caught from generations of the kingdom's populace mining for the Amber Lead material. The World Government and the kingdom's royalty ''knew'' about this but didn't disclose it to the citizens and once the symptoms became more and more noticeable, the royalty fled and left their people there to fend for themselves. Law managed to avoid detection by hiding under ''dead bodies'' that were being wheeled out of the country.

* ''Literature/NumberTheStars'' revolves around a family of Jews who were smuggled out of occupied Denmark and into neutral Swededn by their gentile friends before the Nazis got a hold of them.

* ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'': "Provenance" is about a Pissaro painting stolen from a small art gallery. An elderly Jewish-Holocaust survivor named Erika Hellman and her grandson Joel are among the suspects because the former claims the painting belonged to her family before they were sent to the Nazi death camps. [[spoiler: At the end, it turns out that the director of the art gallery stole it because he found out that it was a forgery, much to everybody else's surprise. Upon further investigation, it's discovered that Erika's father commissioned a Hungarian art forger to recreate the Pissaro and gave him the real one for safekeeping so the Nazis wouldn't be able to loot it. The episode ends with the real painting being discovered in a Hungarian police vault and it's sent over to Los Angeles so Don can give it to the Hellmans. Both are overjoyed at having one of their pre-Holocaust family heirlooms back]].

* ''{{Toys/BIONICLE}}'': The entity known as Annona feeds by eating the dreams of others. One notable event was the Dreaming Plague where she fed on the dreams of the Iron Tribe, resulting in the tribe's descent into madness and eventually death. The plague caused neighboring tribes to shun any survivors in fears they may be carriers. One member, Telluris, suggested changing their armor colors in an attempt to disguise themselves and integrate with other tribes, but to no avail. When too few of the infected Iron Tribe members remained to pose a threat, the survivors emerged from hiding and separated in the hopes of finding a new life.

** After wiping out the Air Nomads, the Fire Nation launched a campaign to get rid of all the waterbenders in the Southern Water Tribe because the Avatar was expected to reincarnate as a waterbender. As a result, Katara is the only waterbender left in the entire South Pole. Throughout the first book, she struggles to learn waterbending on her own until she reaches the Northern Water Tribe and finds a teacher. In Book 3, she meets Hama, another waterbender from her tribe who had been captured many years ago, but managed to escape and start a new life in the Fire Nation. They bond over their shared culture and Katara is excited to learn the traditional southern style of waterbending from Hama. [[spoiler: That is, until she learns that Hama has been using [[PeoplePuppets bloodbending]] to kidnap and imprison random Fire Nation citizens as revenge for what happened to her]].

** Upon Goku’s reveal as a Saiyan, we learn that there are only 4 Saiyans left alive after their planet was destroyed by Frieza. This is taken down to two after Raditz and Nappa died; with Vegeta as the only other survivor. This is downplayed in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' with reveal of the Universe 6 Saiyans (though they evolved very differently from the ones in Universe 7) and the reveal of Broly in ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly''.

* ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}'': The fourth episode opens with a USSR soldier trying to force an elderly Ukrainian woman to evacuate due to the radiation. She states that because she has never been safe before, she sees no reason to leave her home now. She lists the Holodomor, [[TheFamine a man-made famine]] in which millions of Ukrainians were starved to death by the Soviet government, among the horrors she has endured in her life.

** Upon Goku’s reveal as a Saiyan, we learn that there are only 4 Saiyans left alive after their planet was destroyed by Frieza. This is taken down to two after Raditz and Nappa died; with Vegeta as the only other survivor. This is downplayed in Anime/DragonBallSuper with reveal of the Universe 6 Saiyans (though they evolved very differently from the ones in Universe 7) and the reveal of Broly in Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly.
** The NonSerialMovie’s also used Saiyans made for their films. Those being Turles/Tullece and the original incarnation of Broly.

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* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': The Ishvalans are an ethno-religious group native to Ishval. After Ishval was annexed by Amestris, the Ishvalans were at odds with the rest of the population and it resulted in the Ishval Civil War. The Führer of Amestris ordered the State Alchemists to eradicate the Ishvalans. The survivors live as refugees scattered throughout the country. The most prominent among them is a man known only as Scar, who seeks revenge against the State Alchemists for the massacre.

** Trafalger Law's backstory had his hometown of Flevance massacred by World Government agents due to a lie the government spread about a skin disease called the Amber Lead Poisoning, which manifested as white splotches on his skin, and claiming it contagious. In reality, it wasn't and was a hereditary disease caught from generations of the kingdom's populace mining for the Amber Lead material. The World Government and the kingdom's royalty ''knew'' about this but didn't disclose it to the citizens and once the symptoms became more and more noticeable, the royalty fled and left their people there to fend for themselves. Law managed to avoid detection by hiding under ''dead bodies'' that were being wheeled out of the country.
* In ''LightNovel/No6'' [[spoiler: Nezumi]] is the last of the Mao. [[{{FalseUtopia}} No.6]] massacred the Forest People, burned their settlement, and stole their land.

* ''ComicBook/{{Gamora}}'' is the last member of the Zen Whoberian species. After her people were exterminated by the Universal Church of Truth, she was adopted by Thanos and trained as a deadly assassin.
* ''ComicBook/{{Maus}}'': Art's parents, Vladek and Anja, are Holocaust survivors. The book recounts their experiences during the Holocaust, as well as how it affected them afterward. His stepmother Mala is also a survivor, though the book doesn't go into as much detail about her story.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' revealed that Po was the survivor of an attack on his home village. By the end of the episode, we learn that [[spoiler: Po's biological father survived as well, and now leads a villiage of other pandas who also survived.]]

* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** In ''Film/ANewHope'', the Empire uses the Death Star to blow up the planet of Alderaan, with Princess Leia being ForcedToWatch as her home is instantaneously destroyed. The [[StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] goes into more detail about how this affected her. The comic ''ComicBook/StarWarsPrincessLeia'' goes over Leia's attempts to track down and protect any other surviving Alderaanians.
** Obi-wan Kenobi and Yoda are among the only survivors of the Sith's attempt to wipe out the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars. They become hermits on different planets (Tatooine and Dagobah, respectively) until Luke Skywalker gets them both to train him as a Jedi.

* ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'': The villain is Dr. Tolian Soren, an El-Aurien scientist whose home planet was destroyed by the Borg. The majority of his species was wiped out, including his family, and the film chronicles his effort to escape into the Nexus where he'll be immortal and able to live out a fantasy where they never died.

* ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'': Jen and Kira survived the genocide of the Gelflings by the Skeksis; Jen because the Mystycs took him under their wing, Kira because her mother hid her before the garthims came, and she was later found and raised by Podlings.

* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': The Capitol destroys District 12 in retaliation for Katniss' actions, killing most of the population. Among the survivors are Katniss herself, her mother and sister, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, and a minor character named Delly. They and the other survivors all eventually go to [[spoiler:District 13]].

* ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'': Joshua Bright, the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Liberl Arc]]'s deuteragonist, is one of three survivors of the Hamel Incident, a massacre that was orchestrated by [[spoiler:[[BigBad Georg Weissmann]] so that he can trigger the Hundred Days War. After that, Joshua is taken in by Georg and manipulated into being his pawn, joining [[AncientConspiracy Ouroboros]] in the process and becoming an Enforcer]]. The other two survivors of the massacre are Loewe ([[spoiler:who is Joshua's rival Enforcer in Ouroboros]]) and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Ash Carbide]] ([[spoiler:who desires to assassinate the ones he sees as being responsible for the incident]]).

* In ''VideoGame/MegamanStarForce'', [[spoiler:Omega-Xis/Mega]] and the Satellite Admins are the only survivors of Planet AM.