Armenian Genocide
When the word genocide is perceived the thought of the Jewish holocaust is what usually comes to mind. Hitler’s war against the Jewish population was well published and placed in the eyes of almost all. Yet what of the American and Cambodian genocide. These nations had fallen into the same hell on earth but no one spoke of the horrors that lurked in their everyday life.
Before the genocide of 1915 more than 2 million Americans lived in Turkey today only about 60,000 still remain. Historical Armenia covered an area of about 100,000 square miles including parts of what are now the republics of Armenia, Azelbaijan and Georgia. Not only were the population decimated but thousands of Armenian churches, monasteries and monuments were also destroyed in eastern Turkey.
Across the border the Republic of Armenia, now about one tenth of the size of historical Armenia, being land locked and isolated from natural resources its fight for its economic life.
There had been problems between the Turks and the Armenians but a pattern of extermination was not yet established. As the events of 1915 unfolded most of the Armenians were unaware of a centralized plan of genocide was in process. But by the end of the decade a mere handful of Armenians remained. Although the Turks continued to deny that there was a systematic plan to exterminate the Armenians in fulfillment of a pan-Turkic ideology the events that took place contradict their actions.
“Three related actions by the Young Turk government diminished the possibility of Armenian resistance”(Donald & Lorna Tourgan Miller) First those most capable of defending their towns and villages had been drafted and were serving as loyal soldiers of the Ottoman army...
... middle of paper ...
...or the war with jobs such as to build roads, and pack war supplies. They were so poorly fed that many dropped from hunger and exhaustion. It soon became evident that the goal was to work the Armenians until they did drop. With almost no exceptions those who did not die from exhaustion at work were taken in groups of fifty or one hundred and shot. Even more horrid than that was they were forced to dig their own graves then were shot and thrown in like old rag dolls doscarded by a child who has no use for the lifeless doll.
A second step to secure that the Armenians resistance was reduced was the Turkish took controll of all guns owned by Armenians. The confiscated guns were then photographed and presented as evidenceof Armenian rebellion. These photographs created a political reason that legitimized the inhumane actions that were taken againts the Armenians.
The term genocide brings awful things to mind. For most, it probably directs their attention towards the Holocaust; this was definitely a gruesome and obvious example of genocide, but there are many others with great similarities that are not very well known. One of these is the decimation of the Native American population by the European settlers and the atrocious things that were done to them such as the trail of tears following the Indian Removal Act of 1830 during the settling of North America. The Holocaust might be the most well known but there have been many other incidents in history just as abhorrent. The Holocaust and Native American Genocide are different in weapons used and the motives for killing but similar in intent, effects and selection of the persecuted.
The Serb peasants risked their lives by helping the downed airmen. They welcomed the airmen and loved them as their own people. If Germans found Serbs helping these men, they would destroy a whole village and take all the people prisoner. The author portrayed this by describing the extremes the villagers took to hide the men. General Mihailovic made sure that his guerilla forces always protected the Serbs and the airmen. They followed the men
In short, the majority of Turkey’s allies did nothing about the ordeal in the end. Basically brushing the entire event off. Eventually, the already small and fragile Armenian republic was given no support from the allies as a whole, and collapsed upon itself. As for the Turkish, in the successful obliteration of the vast majority of the Armenian people, they destroyed many priceless masterpieces, libraries and churches that had belonged to the Armenians. In Turkey, it’s illegal to even mention the topic of the Armenian Genocide.
The word “genocide” is a general term. It is vague and could be used to group together and refer to a number of very unique events in history. Defined as the systematic murder of a specific group of people, genocides have occurred since ancient times. America’s most famous genocide, and the longest genocide in history, was the Native American Genocide. Considered to have begun the day the Mayflower hit the shore of Massachusetts, and ended in 1924 when the Indian Citizenship Act was past, the Native American Genocide lasted for over four centuries. In the 15th century, over 10 million Native Americans lived on the land that is part of the modern day United States. By 1900, that number was a mere 300,000. Most Americans, however, hardly know
Thomassian, Vache. "The Constantinople War Crimes Trials: The Legal Response to the Armenian Genocide." Haytoug Magazine RSS. Haytoug: The Official Publication of the Armenian Youth Federation Western United States, 29 June 2011. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. .
I’s contribution towards the severity of the Armenian Genocide’s casualties, 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.
...he human depravity one can imagine. Even though Genocide did not begin with the Holocaust, Germany and Adolf Hitlers’ heartless desire for “Aryanization” came at the high cost of human violence, suffering and humiliation towards the Jewish race. These warning signs during the Holocaust, such as Anti-Semitism, Hitler Youth, Racial profiling, the Ghettos, Lodz, Crystal Night, Pogroms, and Deportation unraveled too late for the world to figure out what was going on and help prevent the horrors that came to pass. The lessons learned from all of this provide a better understanding of all the scars genocide leaves behind past and present. In spite the ongoing research in all of these areas today, we continue to learn new details and accounts. By exploring the various warning signs that pointed toward genocide, valuable knowledge was gained on how not to let it happen again.
Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.
The book “Forgotten Fire” was written by Adam Bagdasarian as a piece of historical fiction. Even though this book isn’t non-fiction it’s still based on true facts about the Armenian Genocide. Vahan is a 12 year old boy living in Bitlis, Turkey. Vahan lives the life of privilege as the youngest son of a wealthy family. Being the youngest son he has 3 brothers by the name or Diran, Tavel, and Sisak. Also he has 2 sisters by the name of Oskina and Armenouhi. This story was based on a true story about the Armenian Genocide in Vahan Kenderian point of view. Throughout the story Vahan is constantly losing friends and family while running for his life from the gendarmes. The Armenian Genocide was lead by Turkey which started in 1923 and lasted for 8 years. The Turkish government killed one and a half million Armenians during the 8 year process. This is an essay on the story of Vahan Kenderian before, during, and after the Armenian Genocide and how it changed his life.
On April 24, 1915 the Armenian genocide began. 1 million and 5 hundred-thousand people got killed because of Turkish government. Many of them got raped, enslaved and murdered. For instance, they drowned people in rivers, burned them alive, executed and etc. They also kidnapped children and sent to Turkish families. In many places, Turkish people rapped and used Armenian women as a slave. “The Armenians marched by Turkish soldiers” picture in “artvoice.com” website shows the Armenians nearby prison in Mezierh by armed Turkish soldiers. Also only 25% Armenians deported to the deserts of Syria and Iraq. After the war between Armenian and Turks, only 380’000 Armenian remained in the Ottoman Empire. In June 1915, 25 percent of the Armenian population was deported t...
To start off with, what is genocide? Genocide is the killing of a massive number of people of in a group. Genocide has not only been practices in the present day, but it has been practiced for m...
7. Kifner, John. “Armenian Genocide of 1915: An Overview.” New York Times. The New York Times Company. 2007. Web 24 March 2014.
When people hear genocide they normally think of the Holocaust which was the persecution of Jews by the Nazi’s. This took place under Adolf Hitler’s rule but there have been other genocides throughout history. The Armenian Genocide is one of the many that have taken place. It took place in the Ottoman Empire between the years of 1914 to 1918 (“Armenian” Armenian). It started when the “Young Turks” took control of the government (Beecroft). The Holocaust and Armenian genocide are similar in the reasons that started them, but they are different in who was involved and how the two genocides were executed.
Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity: "Armenians in Ottoman Turkey and the Armenian Genocide. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005. (Accessed March 20, 2014).
The Cambodian Genocide took place from 1975 to 1979 in the Southeastern Asian country of Cambodia. The genocide was a brutal massacre that killed 1.4 to 2.2 million people, about 21% of Cambodia’s population. This essay, will discuss the history of the Cambodian genocide, specifically, what happened, the victims and the perpetrators, and the world’s response to the genocide. The Cambodian Genocide has the historical context of the Vietnam War and the country’s own civil war. During the Vietnam War, leading up to the conflicts that would contribute to the genocide, Cambodia was used as a U.S. battleground for the Vietnam War.