This was a sad irony to the fact that the next four years would embrace everything but democracy. The KR took total control and showed no tolerance for dissidence. Pol Pot, born Saloth Sar, wanted to make Cambodia a self-sufficient agrarian state much like Maoist China. His regime was deeply fearful of rebellion and any possible challenge to its program. It kept the people weak, malnourished, and in transit, to prevent the forming of groups that could pose a threat.
Estimates vary, but it's believed that close to two million people died.
Nearly everyone has terrible stories of loss. Many children have no parents. Some people are the only survivors of their extended families. Medieval, barbaric methods of torture and murder were implemented. Human remains from mass graves and killing sites can be found across Cambodia, telling silent stories of the victims.