armenian genocide
DESCRIPTION
Information taken from http://www.armenian-genocide.org/genocidefaq.htmlTRANSCRIPT
Armenian Genocide
What It Was
Mass genocide by the government of the Ottoman Empire targeting the Armenian people Genocide: organized killing of any religious, ethnic,
or political group of people with the aim of complete or partial extermination/destruction
General acts: expropriation (all of Armenian wealth), abduction and torture (largely women and children), starvation and dehydration (forced to march to Syria through the desert), deportation, massacre
Dates
Conventional starting date: April 14th, 1915Lasted from 1914—1918, largely during
World War IPeriod of calm after the war, then
continuation of horrible acts during 1920—1923
1915—international community condemns the Armenian Genocide as a crime against humanity (33 years before UN Genocide Convention created)
Responsible Parties
Committee of Union and Progress (CUP)—leading political party of the Ottoman Empire, also known as the Young Turks Three controlling figures:
Mehmet Talaat—Minister of the Interior (1915), Prime Minister (1917)
Ismail Enver—Minister of War Ahmed Jemal—Minister of the Marine and Military
Governor of Syria Special Organization (convicts and irregular troops,
responsible for carrying out massacres) Behaeddin Shakir—leader
Responsible Parties (continued)
Ideologists Zia Gokalp—promotion of Pan-Turanism (creation of
new empire from Anatolia to into Central Asia with a Turkic-only population)
A look at the atrocities committed by the Special Organization
Human Costs
1 ½ million perished2 million lived in the Ottoman Empire before
WWI1+ million deported in 1915Hundreds of thousands butchered outrightOthers died of starvation, exhaustion, and
diseases that ravaged concentration camps Torture and death was rampant
Genocide Survivors
Witnesses
Photograph restrictions existed but there were still tons of tourists Mostly diplomatic representatives and missionaries
from the US; they were the first to get the word to the outside community
Germans (on important military assignments in the Ottoman Empire since they were allies with them in the World War)
Russians (Russian Army occupied Anatolia)Syrians (deportees were sent there in terrible
condition)
International Reaction
It was highly condemned, but no strong action was taken
Strong public outcry in US; Allies demanded reprimand for the CUP leaders after their victory in the war
Political cartoon criticizing the lack of action
Movie depicting the genocide