To What Extent World War I Affected the Armenian Genocide

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A. Plan of Investigation
The beginning of World War I marked the commencement of the bloodiest war in history, thus far. With this in mind, it is fitting that the bloodiest genocide in history besides the German Holocaust began as well, the Armenian genocide. This examination evaluates to what extent World War I affected the Armenian Genocide.
To comprehend how World War I influenced the Armenian Genocide, research has been conducted to explore; World War I’s contribution towards the severity of the Armenian Genocide’s causalities, foreign aid, and how the genocide was reported to the world. The main sources used for this investigation are the Treatment of the Armenians by James Bryce, which describes the severity of the Armenian condition in Turkey during the World War I era, as well as the Burning Tigris by Peter Balakian, which emphasizes World War I’s conditions and how they affected the Armenians in Turkey during that time.
B. Summary of Evidence
There was stirring animosity between the Armenians and the Turks prior to World War I, in 1894, thousands of Armenians were massacred by the Turkish due to their religious affiliation with Christianity, which juxtaposed the Islamic Turks with whom they lived with (Greene 125). The Armenians living in Turkey have been ostracized ever since, and increased tension between the Turks and Armenians was sparked by the beginning of World War I. On April 15th, 1914 the Armenians asked for German protection from the Turks, which the German government refused to avoid offending the Turkish Government (Gunter 46). The Germans began negotiations with Turkey about a week prior to the beginning to World War I on August 1st, 1914. 8 days after Germany declared war on Russia, the Turkish governm...

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