The Forgotten Genocide What is to be learned from this Hitler quote?

Avedis Aharonian ( )

The Armenian Genocide

What is the Armenian Genocide? The atrocities committed against the Armenian people of the Ottoman Empire during WWI are defined as the Armenian Genocide. Those massacres were perpetrated throughout different regions of the Ottoman Empire by the Young Turkish Government which was in power at the time. The first international reaction to the violence resulted in a joint statement by France, Russia and Great Britain, in May 1915, where the Turkish atrocities directed against the Armenian people was defined as “new crime against humanity and civilization” agreeing that the Turkish government must be punished for committing such crimes.

The Armenian Genocide: Context and Legacy---Adalian, Rouben Paul. Social Education: The Official Journal of the National Council for the Social Studies: 1991, (February). “At a time when global issues dominate the political agenda of most nations, the Armenian genocide underlines the grave risks of overlooking the problems of small peoples. We cannot ignore the cumulative effect of allowing state after state to resort to the brutal resolution of disagreements with their ethnic minorities. That the world chose to forget the Armenian genocide is also evidence of a serious defect in the system of nation-states which needs to be rectified. In this respect, the continued effort to cover up the Armenian genocide may hold the most important lesson of all."

Religion- Armenian Apostolic Church Karekin II, leader of the Armenian Orthodox Church (Canadian Armenian Embassy) *Trace heritage back to Noah *1 st country to formally adopt Christianity (331 AD) *93% of Armenians belong to Armenian Apostolic church *Church as cultural and social force

On 24th of April in 1915, the first phase of the Armenian massacres began with the arrest and murder of nearly hundreds intellectuals, mainly from Constantinople, the capital of Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul in present day Turkey). Subsequently, Armenians worldwide commemorate the April 24th as a day that memorializes all the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The second phase of the ‘final solution’ appeared with the conscription of some Armenian men into the general Turkish army, who were later disarmed and killed by their Turkish fellowmen.

The third phase of the genocide comprised of massacres, deportations and death marches made up of women, children and the elderly into the Syrian deserts. During those marches hundreds of thousand were killed by Turkish soldiers, gendarmes and Kurdish mobs. Others died because of famine, epidemic diseases and exposure to the elements. Thousands of women and children were raped. Tens of thousands were forcibly converted to Islam.

Finally, the fourth phase of the Armenian genocide appeared with the total and utter denial by the Turkish government of the mass killings and elimination of the Armenian nation on its homeland. Despite the ongoing international recognition of the Armenian genocide, Turkey has consistently fought the acceptance of the Armenian Genocide by any means, including false scholarship, propaganda campaigns, lobbying

Under Ottoman Domination In the 15 th century, the Ottoman Turks became a dominant force in Asia Minor. In 1453, after defeating the Byzantine Empire, they declared Constantinople their capital city. This led to the creation of the Ottoman Empire. The Patriarch or head of the Armenian Church, in the Ottoman Empire, was responsible for the religious, educational, and judicial establishments of the Armenian community. The church helped the Armenian identity stay distinct in the Empire. Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Armenians received moments of peace and periods of harsh treatment. The majority of Armenians were peasants in the eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire. – Out of these peasants many worked as tenant farmers or share croppers for Turkish landholders.

Under Ottoman Domination continued 250,000 Armenians who lived in the capital served the Empire as bankers, merchants, civil servants, and imperial architects. Soon Armenian leaders began to ask for democratic reform in order to help alleviate the hardships. – Armenian complaints consisted of misrule, over- taxation, and increasing insecurity of life and property. Ottoman leader Abdul Hamid II was fearful Armenians might gain independence so he declared a massacre of about 200,000 Armenians in the capital.

The Genocidal Process In 1914 during WWI Russia, Great Britain, and France were allied together against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Russia, in enlarging their empire, controlled areas populated with Turkish speaking people and hurt the Ottoman Empire. Because of this it appeared Germany and Austria- Hungary were allied with the Ottoman Empire. – On Aug. 2, 1914 The Ottoman Empire signed a treaty making the alliance with Germany and Austria- Hungary official. Young Turks hoped that they would defeat Russia so they can expand to Central Asia and unite all Turkish speaking people This became known as Pan- Turkism. However, the Armenian plateau’s location, made it an inevitable battle ground for war. – No matter who won the war, the Armenians would face severe problems.

The 8 Steps of Armenian Genocide Classification The Armenians were considered separate than Ottoman Turkey They were Christians, and separated from the mostly Muslim population Symbolization Generalizations were made about all Armenians because of actions of a few Christian people

The 8 Steps of the Armenian Genocide (Cont.) Dehumanization Because the Armenians had different beliefs, they were forced to pay higher taxes They also were not trusted and treated as second class individuals Organization The Committee of Union and Progress made lists of different Armenian people to be murdered

The 8 Steps of the Armenian Genocide (Cont.) Polarization Armenians were accused of going against their government to help the Russians Only a few people tried to help them, and by doing so they put their lives at risk Preparation The Turks ordered leaders to send all Armenian women and children on a forced march through the desert under terrible conditions They set up 25 concentration camps Militias were developed for the killings

The 8 Steps of the Armenian Genocide (Cont.) Extermination Armenian political and intellectual leaders were gathered and killed on April 24 th, 1915 On that day, 5,000 of the poorest Armenians were butchered in the streets Denial The Turkish Government denies that there was a genocide of the Armenians They claim that the Armenians were removed from the Eastern “war zone”

Genocidal Process : How It Begins During the first 6 months of war, there were reports about criminals released from jail and being dispatched to where the Armenians lived. In Aug the young Turk government created the Special Organization units. – This units were instructed to carry out subversive activities on the Russo- Ottoman border. – Members were recruited among the ranks of the criminals and outlaws released from prison on occasion. – But later it became evident that these units were to kill off the Armenian population. The initial defeat of the Ottomans against Russians enhanced the government’s ill- disposition toward the Armenian citizens. In the winter of the Ottoman army launched an attack against Asia hoping to open the way to Central Asia. – The attack was poorly planned and it ended up with severe loss from the Ottoman army. Armenian villages were taking the burden for the Turks anger and were being accused of being non trustworthy to their government. This is when the massacres of Armenians began.

Armenian genocide Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Men shot, killed and buried in mass graves…

April 24, Armenian Leaders from Constantinople political leaders writers clergy Educators and dignitaries Taken from their homes, jailed & tortured, then hanged and shot Tied together with rope in small groups then taken to the outskirts of their town and shot dead

Armenians from Kesaria in front of jail one hour before all were killed

The Armenian Genocide Turkish leaders first executed Armenian leaders…

Some Armenian children were taken from their families and given to Muslim Turkish families to be raised. They were given Muslim names and forced to convert. They were taught Arabic. The boys were circumcized.

Armenian Women, Children, and the Elderly Ordered to pack belongings w/little-no notice Claimed were being relocated to the non- military zone for their own safety. – Actually being taken on death marches

The Armenian Genocide - Armed round-ups begin April 24, mass killing and deportation follow - property taken by local Turks - Ambassador Henry Morgenthau reported to Washington, “When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for these deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to a whole race..."

The Armenian Genocide, 1915 U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau Sr., concluded a “race murder” was occurring. He cabled Washington and described the Turkish campaign: ”Persecution of Armenians assuming unprecedented proportions. Reports from widely scattered districts indicate systematic attempt to uproot peaceful Armenian populations and through arbitrary arrests, terrible tortures, whose- sale expulsions and deportations from one end of the Empire to the other accompanied by frequent instances of rape, pillage, and murder turning into massacre, to bring destruction and destitution on them. These measures are not in response to popular or fanatical demand but are purely arbitrary and directed from Constantinople in the name of military necessity, often in districts where no military operations are likely to take place…there seems to be a systematic plan to crush the Armenian race.” The documentary, The Armenian Genocide aired on PBS in April, 2006.

Women and children slowly starved to death on a forced march After their defeat in World War I, the new Ottoman government tried the leaders of the genocide and sentenced them to death in absentia. However within a few months the proceedings were suspended and the matter dropped. The Armenian survivors were not allowed to return to the Armenian plateau.

Results How many people died in the Armenian Genocide? There were an estimated two million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire on the eve of WWI. Approximately one and a half million Armenians perished between 1915 and Another half million found shelter abroad.

Photographed by a German Officer in Turkey

The poster of the film “Auction of Souls”

A line of naked, crucified Armenian girls

Turkish Genocide Against Armenians A Portent of Future Horrors to Come!