History of the Armenian Genocide

[Federate]

Re: History of the Armenian Genocide

And, (and also with due respect to Crimson Clow and his obvious good intentions), I have to agree.

Do you feel that there is important information missing from this brief summary? I'd be happy to hear suggestions on how we can make this more complete.

[bell-the-cat]

Re: History of the Armenian Genocide

Everybody on this forum should read Dadrian, Sarafian, Kaiser. With all due respect this thread is for kiddies.

And, (and also with due respect to Crimson Clow and his obvious good intentions), I have to agree.

[KanadaHye]

Re: History of the Armenian Genocide

I agree with Crim. Many Armenians don't know their past, or even have the slightest sense of victim mentality. When someone has put their own time and effort to teach others in the Armenian community, you DON'T put them down like Hagopjan did in this thread. If you think the information presented here is inadequate, then please, feel free to add on to it if you wish to contribute. Thanks Crim.

[Crimson Glow]

Re: History of the Armenian Genocide

Everybody on this forum should read Dadrian, Sarafian, Kaiser. With all due respect this thread is for kiddies.

2 things. First, you apparently missed the point of this thread, as I very clearly stated that this was designed to give a brief education on the background of this event, not to show you everything I've learned in 7 years. Most people are too lazy to read the 6 pages I typed, let alone the 60,000+ pages I've read over the course of nearly a decade. Regardless, I am welling to bet there is significant info that even a lot of well versed people don't know about in that piece (such as the Young Turks finding 124 Muslims guilty after the Adana massacres, which is an important piece of info considering Turks today claim Armenians had been revolting since that time/instigated those massacres). Second, if you're getting your info from the likes of Dadrian, then with all due respect, YOU'RE reading kiddie material. Dadrian insists on clinging to evidence that has been proven false/fraudulent, as well as claiming that religion was the primary reason for the genocide, which if you did your homework, you'd know is wrong. If you're going to recommend historians, or scholars to people to read, please refer them to better, or less biased sources.

[Federate]

Re: History of the Armenian Genocide

Everybody on this forum should read Dadrian, Sarafian, Kaiser. With all due respect this thread is for kiddies.

The thing is, most people will not even read a page of scholarly books because they are in reality either lazy or too dumb (dummies). That is why such a summary is necessary for the average person so that they AT LEAST know something beyond April 24, 1915 (if they even know that to begin with). This is the entire history of the genocide and the events that preceded it as short as possible.

Oh and I would recommend Akcam too in the list of people you named.

[HagopJan]

Re: History of the Armenian Genocide

I think everybody on this forum needs to give this a read. Although I can't sticky this thread in this particular forum, I will make sure it gets done. Thank you, Crimson.

Everybody on this forum should read Dadrian, Sarafian, Kaiser. With all due respect this thread is for kiddies.

[One-Way]

Re: History of the Armenian Genocide

I think everybody on this forum needs to give this a read. Although I can't sticky this thread in this particular forum, I will make sure it gets done. Thank you, Crimson.

[Crimson Glow]

Re: History of the Armenian Genocide

I will put together the works cited version with footnotes when I get a chance. I just wanted to finish the actual writing ASAP, and I don't have a whole lot of free time to do that in.

[jgk3]

Re: History of the Armenian Genocide

nice job Crim, I encourage you to include your references for this. On the whole, for the purpose you wrote this, it was very well thought out and I congratulate you. It is an asset for everyone to be able to read this.

[Crimson Glow]

Re: History of the Armenian Genocide

Architecting a Genocide

Step 1: The first step the CUP took to eradicate the "Armenian question" was to disarm all the Armenian soldiers in the Ottoman Army in February of 1915. These soldiers, making up the majority of the able-bodied men who might put up a resistance against what the Turks were about to do, were either worked to death, or massacred. The Armenians were now defenseless.

Step 2: On April 24, 1915 (the date Armenians commemorate the genocide on), approximately 250 - 300 Armenian intellectuals were rounded up and arrested from various towns and villages. They were taken to a prison in the interior where they were either tortured and killed, or otherwise never heard from again. The Armenians were now leaderless.

Step 3: With the help of the Germans, state ordered deportations were organized and carried out for the remaining women, children and elderly. The Armenians were told they were being relocated out of a war zone for their own protection, and that they would be brought back when it was safe to do so. They were allowed only what they could carry, meaning very little food, and the clothes on their backs. Most of the journeys were over 60 days long, taking the longest routes possible. The atrocities that occurred along the way, which were the point of these marches, were some of the most horrid acts in history. Many perished due to disease, exhaustion or starvation. Many more were burned, beheaded, shot, raped or beaten to death. Women had their breasts cut off. Pregnant women had their babies cut out of their wombs. Evidence shows that so many people were killed and thrown in the Euphrates River, that the river ran red. Wealthy Turks often took young girls to be their brides after being converted to Islam. Kurds and Turkish civilians alike took advantage of the situation to attack the convoys and steal their possessions. Many killed themselves as they could not take the pain, or did not want to be raped or taken into Turkish harems. The few that survived the journey discovered that the term "relocation" was a farce, as the marches ended in the Syrian Desert, where they were left to die. There was never any intention of bringing the Armenians back home. When all was said and done, up to 1.5 million Armenians had perished.


Current Situation

Today's Turkish government vehemently denies the genocidal intent of these deportations. Modern day Turkish revisionists claim that there is no evidence of a planned extermination of the Armenian people, and blame the events on a civil war/unrest due to Armenian nationalist movements. They claim that there were no more than 300,000 deaths resulting from the Turks defended themselves against huge revolts. However, this perspective is almost the direct opposite of what happened, as it ignores the decades of unwarranted violence that preceded any revolts, or formation of the “dangerous” political parties that supposedly organized them, forcing Armenians to take action towards self-preservation. It also blows the scale of these revolts grotesquely out of proportion, and gives far too much credit to a largely unarmed, tiny minority with no centralized government. In other words, the Armenians were in no position to be seen as a threat. The majority of the rebels who revolted directly prior to the genocide were outsiders who found very little, to no support from the Ottoman Armenians they solicited for help. Lastly, the majority of these “revolts” denialists refer to were last stand attempts at self-defense in certain terror-stricken cities like Van, coming well after the genocide was under way.

Regardless, this has not stopped Turkey from repeatedly threatened any nation willing to accept the genocide, saying that it would be committing political relations suicide. One needs only look at Turkey’s reaction to resolution HR106 passing in the US House Committee in October of ’07 to understand the severity of the situation. It is also well known that the Turkish government has intervened at every conceivable step of the way when it comes to the creation, release, and/or distribution of any movies, books, documentaries, school curriculums, etc. pertaining to the Armenian Genocide in any nation that considers them an ally. This steadfast stance has also raised a generation of Turkish citizens who not only deny the genocide, but counter-attack by claiming it was the Armenians who were the aggressors, and committed a genocide against the Turks. This is due in large part to either denialist propaganda and school curriculums circulated in Turkey (as well as outside of it) that promote inaccurate information and timelines, or a complete lack of knowledge altogether about the history of events.

But as the years have progressed, the issue has gotten more and more exposure, and there are now several Turkish historians and scholars coming fourth and breaking away from the company lines. Likewise, a number of nations have officially recognized the events that took place as state ordered genocide (see below). While the United States as a whole refuses to use the “G word” to describe the events of 1915 (due entirely to political/ally ties to Turkey), 41 states have individually recognized the genocide (see below). With pressure mounting globally, and Turkey making a bid to be in the EU, there is a glimmer of hope for the Armenians, all be it a dim one, that Turkey will finally face its past. All that can be done at this point is to press on in the cause to shed light on a very dark event in human history, and not let time wither away the memory, or allow the perpetrators to quietly ride off into the night.


Countries officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide:

Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chili, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, Vatican City and Venezuela.


US States officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide:

Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.