1. The Armenian Genocide

2. Overview Planned and administered by Turkish government
- Directed by a special organization called Teshkilat Mahsusa
Turks believed that Armenians and other Christians were helping countries against Turkey and going against their government
Armenians wanted independence and the Turks wanted a new empire
Occurred during World War I between in Turkey

3. Background… Of the 2.5 Armenians,1.5 million died
Assyrians and Greeks were also targeted and attacked
Armenian people were forced to move from Armenia and Anatolia to Syria (Ottoman Empire)
Deportations involved forced marches with unbearable conditions as a way to kill them

4. The 8 Steps of 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

5. The 8 Steps of 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

6. The 8 Steps of 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

7. The 8 Steps of Genocide (Cont.)
Extermination
Armenian political and intellectual leaders were gathered and killed on April 24th, 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”