The Armenian genocide was the first genocide of Modern World History, but it was not the first time the world saw an ethnic and religious group angry with and persecuting another. The Armenian genocide is special because it was the first time the world saw mass slaughter being planned and executed by government officials. This deliberate slaughter of Armenians has been the focus of many because of its unique persecution of a single ethnic group and the fact that the Turkish government still denies its existence. Although the Armenian genocide took place in the Middle East, it has impacted the entire world. The Armenian genocide happened during World War I.
Final solutions: Mass killing and genocide in the 20th century. United States: Cornell University Press. Mazian, F. (1990). Why genocide? The Armenian and Jewish experiences in perspective.
The recently coined definition of genocide among scholars and international organizations varies throughout history; however, there is the common understanding that genocide is the intentional destruction of a large group of people who are often associated with a specific origin or denomination. According to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), part two, article six, Genocide is any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical or religious group such as: killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group (Prevent Genocide International, 2008). Nature of Crime The mass destruction of a specific group of people often occurs due to instigation experienced by the offenders themselves. Societal difficulties, economic problems such as unemployment and inflation; and political issues such as political chaos can work as a stressor for a group of people. It is the fundamental human needs such as positive identity, control, security, and connection to others that are at risk when a group of people turns to genocide as a solution.
While the Germans and the rest of the world were focusing on World War I, many innocent people experiencing a different type of nature. They were subjected to being publicly humiliated, shaved and branded, and placed in tormenting concentration camps. Persecution and Emigration, Origins of the Holocaust, Fighting Back and Anne Frank are all big roles during this time period. No one will ever know the exact feeling of the trauma people were facing and how many people were actually killed. During the time of the Holocaust, Jews were not the only victims of murder.
Considered the worst act of genocide since The Holocaust, more than 100,000 Bosniak (Bosnian-Muslims) men, women, and children were killed in the Bosnian genocide. One might be drawn to this genocide because of how recent it has occurred, compared to other genocides that have occurred in the past (Bosnian Genocide). Many people are sensitive to this genocide because they could have lost a loved one in this mass killing of innocent people (Ching 4). After the world learned about the events that occurred in Bosnia, 60,000 NATO troops were stationed there to keep peace in the nation. Some people may believe that what occurred in Bosnia was not genocide, but by comparing it to the definition of genocide, it is because it was a systematic mass killing of a race, the Bosniaks (Bosnian Genocide).
Gunter, Michael M. Armenian History and the Question of Genocide. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Print. Read, James Morgan. Atrocity Propaganda: 1914-1919.
Grene, D., and Lattimore, R., eds. ?The Bacchae.? Greek Tragedies: Volume 3. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1991. 195-262.
The Great Game of Genocide; Imperialism, Nationalism, and the Destruction of the Ottoman Armenians. First. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Rubinstein, William. Genocide: A History.
Hayes, Peter. “Auschwitz, Capitol of the Holocaust.” Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Vol. 17 No 2. 4 Apr.
4/16/14 < http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/armenian_genocide.htm > “Armenia”. http://www.infoplease.com/ 2000-2014. 4/20/14 < http://www.infoplease.com/country/armenia.html > “F.A.Q About the Armenian Genocide”. http://www.genocide1915.org/ 2010-2013. 4/14/14 < http://www.genocide1915.org/fragorochsvar_bakgrund.html > “Fact Sheet: Armenian Genocide”.